“Hurricane Harvey will be strongest Texas coastal bend landfall in at least 47 years; Devastating rainfall flood threat.” -The Weather Channel
When Hurricane Sandy smashed into the American East Coast in 2012, it was a disaster of enormous proportions. It was, in fact, the second costliest hurricane in US history–about $75 billion worth of damage–and it killed over 230 people before it blew itself out. When it made landfall in Brigantine, New Jersey in the early morning hours of October 29th, it was a Category 1, or a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds. Hurricane Harvey, which is currently charging towards Texas, is expected to be a Category 3. The last major hurricane to make landfall in the United States was Hurricane Katrina, the deadliest and costliest in American history. When it hit Louisiana on August 29th, 2005, it was a Category 3.
By all indications, Hurricane Harvey will become one of the most destructive storms in decades. When it hits, experts are predicting sustained winds of between 105 and 130 miles per hour. The wind, however, isn’t the most dangerous part of a hurricane like Harvey. According to IFLScience, “for the average hurricane, 400 times more energy goes into the cloud and rain formation than goes into producing those monstrous winds. The precipitation and flooding are far more threatening.” Harvey will make landfall around 1 a.m. CDT Saturday.
The National Hurricane Center expects Hurricane Harvey to inundate parts of Texas with somewhere between 20 and 35 inches of rain over the next 36 hours–some 70% of the annual average. But the wind and the rain aren’t all–by far, the worst threat that Harvey is bringing is the storm surge. “Created when the low atmospheric pressure allows the ocean to rise upwards and encouraged further by the strong winds,” wrote IFLScience‘s Robin Andrews, “Harvey’s will be around 3.7 meters (12 feet) high – and it’s almost certain to claim some lives. All in all, the NHC says that some areas will “be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”
The Governor of Texas released a statement addressing the situation. “I, GREG ABBOTT, Governor of the State of Texas, do hereby certify that Tropical Depression Harvey poses a threat of imminent disaster, including severe flooding, storm surge and damaging winds, in the counties of Aransas, Austin, Bee, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, Brazoria, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Harris, Jackson, Jefferson, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kleberg, Lavaca, Liberty, Live Oak, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Waller, Wharton, and Wilson, beginning August 23, 2017. THEREFORE, in accordance with the authority vested in me by Section 418.014 of the Texas Government Code, I do hereby declare a state of disaster in the previously listed counties based on the existence of such threat.”
Although Texas surfers depend on tropical systems, Harvey isn’t something to be trifled with. “We all know that surfers in the Gulf of Mexico are sustained for half the year by tropical systems, and the past few years have left them famished, but Harvey is not the kind of storm that anyone orders up,” wrote the Surfline forecast team. “Spots to the north of the storm’s eye/landfall will see the largest surf and relentless onshore to side-onshore winds – as an indicator of the size, models predict the Corpus Christi buoy just offshore to top 30ft. Portions of the coast south of the eye will see offshore winds develop through the day Friday, but even if offshore, gale, tropical storm, or hurricane force winds are still a problem. Almost the entire Texas coast is under hurricane and storm surge watches/warnings. Many coastal areas will be under mandatory evacuations and will be closed to visitors. The one region that holds the most potential for possible surf, South Texas, closed all beaches on South Padre Island and Boca Chica Beach until further notice at 2 pm today.”
