Texas Hurricane History:
Early 20th Century (continued)

June 27th, 1936: During the night of the 26/27th, a hurricane of very small diameter formed in the Western Gulf. It struck Port Aransas shortly before noon on the 27th. It came virtually without warning. After a clear night, a few clouds moved into Corpus Christi at 12:40 am. The clouds thickened and covered the sky by 1:30. Rain began at 3 am. Squalls buffeted the area until 7, when the eye began to go overhead. Winds resumed at 8:11. Gusts to 55 mph occurred at Corpus Christi. The Coast Guard Cutter Woodbury measured a pressure of 29.23".

At Ingleside, winds gusted to 90 mph. This destroyed cooling towers at the Humble Oil Refinery. Camps and lodges were destroyed at Aransas Pass and Port Aransas, where winds of 80 mph blew through. Houses were damaged badly in Rockport. Crops were severely damaged west northwest to Gregory and Sinton. Corn was practically destroyed and cotton was damaged. Small fishing boats and pleasure craft were sunk or driven ashore. Port Aransas measured a 3.8' tide. Damage amounted to $550 thousand. No loss of life occurred.

August 15th, 1938: A category 2 hurricane made landfall near Cameron, LA. High tides were seen along the Upper coast.

August 7-8th, 1940: This was the other storm to form off the Carolinas and affect Texas. It formed on August 1st and moved across the Florida peninsula on the 2nd. It hit near Cameron on the 7th. Winds reached 91 m.p.h. out of the northeast and the pressure fell to 28.87" at Port Arthur. Over 10" of rain fell in the Beaumont area; triple that amount fell across Acadiana in Louisiana. Damage estimates were near 1.75 million dollars in Texas.

September 23rd, 1941: A storm formed over the central Gulf on the 17th. It made a counter-clockwise loop, moved west, then northward to near Matagorda on the 23rd. A ship near Texas City reported winds of 83 mph and a pressure of 28.66". Winds were estimated near 100 m.p.h. at several locations along the coast. A ruined rice crop resulted in $5 million in damages. Wind damage occurred at Houston as the system turned northeast. The approach of this storm was so heralded that 25,000 people evacuated, leaving the smaller towns practically deserted.. Freeport has a tide of 9.9' while very high tides were experienced from Matagorda to Galveston. Only 4 lives were lost to this hurricane with $7,000,000 in damage.

August 21st, 1942: Due to World War II and this storm's small size, reports of this hurricane were not received until it struck the Bolivar peninsula. Port Arthur reported 72 m.p.h. winds from the southeast and a pressure of 29.35". Tides up to 7 feet above mean low water were seen at High Island. Damage was confined to piers and small craft in the region. Total damage came to $790,000, mostly to the rice crop. No person was injured in the storm.

Matagorda saw a 14.7 foot tide, putting the town under 6 feet of water. Rainfall was not excessive with the system due to its rapid movement. The highest amount was 9.25", on the coast 25 miles left of the point of landfall. Eight died; damage estimates were near $26.5 million, over half due to crops.

July 27-28th, 1943: War censorship came into question during this hurricane. This storm was detected just off the Mississippi Delta on the 25th of July. It formed into a hurricane rapidly and moved inland in Chambers County. Its eye was 13 miles in diameter as it passed inland, yet the storm itself was no more than 70 miles in diameter. It was considered the worst storm in the area since 1915, and at La Porte, worse than the Galveston Hurricane of 1900.

The brunt of the storm passed over the Houston Metropolitan Area between noon and 4 P.M. (population was 600,000 at the time). Gusts above 100 m.p.h. occurred in the Galveston-Houston area. Two utility towers over the Houston Ship Channel were blown down (these were rated to withstand 120 mph winds). Four cooling towers at the Humble Oil and Refining Co. (now Exxon) were demolished as they reported wind gusts to 132 mph. The anemometer at the Metropolitan airport also saw a gust to 132 mph. Oil derricks across Chambers and Jefferson Counties met their fate during the hurricane (Fincher et. al).

Beaumont received 19.48" of rain on the 27th and 28th - establishing daily rainfall records that still stand today. Winds there gusted to 54 mph. La Porte saw over 17" of rain. Ellington Field had the pressure fall to 28.78", where 5 planes were destroyed. A number of brick business buildings and churches collapsed on Galveston Island. Winds caused much of the damage, which totaled $17 million (U.S. Army Corp of Engineers).

Due to the northerly winds across Galveston Bay, tides were extremely low. On Galveston Island, a storm surge of 6 feet was experienced. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineer's hopper dredge, Galveston, broke up on the north jetty, taking 11 lives. the tug Titan foundered between Corpus Christi and Port Neches, causing 3 more lives to be lost. Nineteen fell victim in all. This was the first storm in which aircraft reconnaissance was used; flight level was between 4000 and 9000 feet.

August 26-27th, 1945: An intense hurricane struck Matagorda. It was the worst along the Lower Coast since the September 1933 hurricane. Two-thirds of the Texas coast saw winds of hurricane force. Winds were in excess of 100 mph from Port Aransas to Port O'Connor. The highest gust was 135 mph at Collegeport. The pressure fell to 28.57" at Palacios.

Tides were as high as 15.0 feet at Port Lavaca. Rainfall amounts of 30" were seen along sections of the coast. A tornado 8 miles north-northeast of Houston killed one. Heavy damage was seen across Nueces, San Patricio, Aransas, Calhoun, Matagorda, and Wharton counties. Severe crop and livestock losses were suffered along nearly all Middle and Upper Texas coast locations. Three were killed; damage estimates were near $20.1 million.

August 24th, 1947: Galveston was struck by a minimal hurricane. Their pressure was 29.30"; winds gusted to 72 m.p.h. at 4:45 P.M.. Wind driven rain caused much of the damage on the inside of houses, as window panes were blown out. Roofs suffered some damage as well. Sabine Pass had a 3.6' tide. One person died and damage totaled $2 million.

October 3rd-4th, 1949: This system formed in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and crossed into the Gulf just west of Vera Cruz. Freeport was struck by a strong hurricane. Winds were estimated at 135 mph, five miles to their west. The pressure fell to 28.88". Harrisburg's tide rose to 11.4 feet above M.S.L.. Moderate erosion damaged streets in Galveston and destroyed a wooden fishing pier. The South Jetty lighthouse was slightly damaged. Only 2 people died and $6.7 million in damage occurred, mostly to crops.

In 1950, the U.S. Military began using the phonetic alphabet to name storms in the Atlantic Ocean. This was supposed to clear up confusion when multiple storms existed in the basin at the same time. The public became aware of naming in 1954, when lists of women's names became used worldwide.

October 4th, 1950 (How): Hurricane How hit the Mexican coast 150 miles south of Brownsville. Damage was reported as far north as Port Aransas. Corpus Christi had gusts to 39 mph. Tides rose to 4' at Padre Island. Sections of highway on North Padre Island at Gulf Park were washed away.

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