Hurricane Allen
Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | July 31, 1980 |
Dissipated | August 11, 1980 |
Category 5 major hurricane | |
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Highest winds | 190 mph (305 km/h) |
Lowest pressure | 899 mbar (hPa); 26.55 inHg |
Overall effects | |
Fatalities | 269 |
Damage | $1.57 billion (1980 USD) |
Areas affected | Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Yucatán Peninsula, Northern Mexico, Southern Texas |
IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season |
Hurricane Allen was a rare and extremely powerful
Throughout its life, Allen moved through the deep tropics on a westerly to northwesterly course through the tropical
Meteorological history
Allen was an early
Most intense Atlantic hurricanes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Hurricane | Season | Pressure | ||
hPa | inHg | ||||
1 | Wilma | 2005 | 882 | 26.05 | |
2 | Gilbert | 1988 | 888 | 26.23 | |
3 | "Labor Day" | 1935 | 892 | 26.34 | |
4 | Rita | 2005 | 895 | 26.43 | |
5 | Allen | 1980 | 899 | 26.55 | |
6 | Camille | 1969 | 900 | 26.58 | |
7 | Katrina | 2005 | 902 | 26.64 | |
8 | Mitch | 1998 | 905 | 26.73 | |
Dean | 2007 | ||||
10 | Maria | 2017 | 908 | 26.81 | |
Source: HURDAT[6] |
At 1600 UTC on August 3, the National Hurricane Center upgraded Allen to hurricane status, as an Air Force plane recorded winds of 100 mph (160 km/h).
By August 5, Allen intensified into a Category 5 hurricane while south of Puerto Rico. This made Allen the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic on record,[1] but was later surpassed by Hurricane Emily which reached that intensity on July 16, 2005. During this time, Allen attained a central pressure of 911 mbar (911 hPa; 26.9 inHg), which was the lowest pressure on record in the eastern Caribbean sea until Hurricane Maria of 2017, which peaked at 908 mbar (908 hPa; 26.8 inHg). Hence, the barometric pressure dropped by 35 mbar (35 hPa; 1.0 inHg) less than 10 hours after the National Hurricane Center stated that the pressure would not decrease significantly within the time of 24 hours. The eye passed between Hispaniola and Jamaica as a Category 4 hurricane. After friction with the mountains of Haiti and Jamaica had caused it to weaken, Allen intensified back to a Category 5 hurricane, retaining this intensity for over a day. It then moved past the islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman causing moderate damage on Cayman Brac with winds near 135 mph. The storm then moved between Cuba and the Yucatán Peninsula, reaching its peak intensity of 190 mph (310 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 899 mbar (899 hPa; 26.5 inHg) while crossing the Yucatán Channel. During Allen's trek through the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, its center of circulation never crossed over land despite its close passage to various islands in and around the Caribbean sea.[6]
Allen again weakened to a Category 4 storm due to friction with Mexico and an
Preparations
As Allen approached the
As Allen approached the Gulf of Mexico, hurricane warnings were raised for the northeast Yucatán peninsula of Mexico from the afternoon of August 6 into the morning of August 8. Gale warnings were in effect for the Florida Keys from the evening of August 6 into the early morning of August 8. As Allen approached its final landfall, the northeast Mexican coast and Texas coast were placed under a hurricane watch from the morning of August 8 until the morning of August 9 for Mexico and the afternoon of August 9 for Texas. Hurricane warnings were posted for the Texas coast during the afternoon of August 8, and were lowered north of Freeport, Texas during the afternoon of August 9 and south of Freeport during the afternoon of August 10. Gale warnings and a hurricane watch were issued for the Louisiana coast from Vermilion Bay westward from the afternoon of August 8 into the afternoon of August 9. Hurricane warnings were in effect for northeast Mexico from the early afternoon of August 9 into the late afternoon of August 10. Hurricane warnings were downgraded to gale warnings between High Island, Texas and Freeport, Texas between the late afternoon of August 9 and the late afternoon of August 10. Hurricane watches were dropped for the Louisiana coast during the late afternoon of August 9. Hurricane warnings were downgraded to gale warnings for the lower Texas coast south of Freeport from the late afternoon of August 10 into the early morning of August 11.[12]
Impact
Country | Deaths | Damage | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Barbados | None | $6 million | [13] |
Cayman Islands | None | [14] | |
Cuba | 3 | [15] | |
Dominican Republic | 7 | $47 million | [15] |
Grenada | None | $5.3 million | [15] |
Guadeloupe | 1 | Unknown | [14] |
Haiti | 220 | $400 million | [13][16] |
Jamaica | 8 | $100 million | [13] |
Martinique | None | $68 million | [15] |
Mexico | None | None | [16] |
St. Lucia | 6 | $235 million | [13] |
St Vincent and The Grenadines | None | $16.3 million | [15] |
United States | 6 | $630 million | [16][17] |
Offshore | 17 | $60 million | [16] |
Total | 269 | $1.57 billion |
Allen caused just over $1 billion (1980 USD) in damages and killed at least 269 people throughout its course (including indirect deaths).[14][16]
Caribbean islands
In Barbados, preliminary damages were estimated to be $1.5 million (1980
In the central Caribbean, Cayman Brac was hit by winds in excess of 115 mph (185 km/h) which caused considerable property damage. A coral reef at Discovery Bay, Jamaica was devastated by the wave action from the storm.[20] Offshore Jamaica, greater numbers of smaller-sized Damselfishes was witnessed in the wake of Allen.[21] Eight deaths in Jamaica were attributed to Allen. Damage was very significant along the northeast coast, where the hurricane made its closest approach to the island and created a 12 metres (39 ft) storm surge. Three deaths were attributed to Allen in Cuba.[16]
Extensive damage occurred in Haiti due to high winds and flash flooding. Total costs for that country were estimated to be at more than $400 million (1980 USD). Roughly 60% of the nation's coffee crop was destroyed. In all, 220 people were killed and 835,000 were left homeless. In Port-au-Prince, 41 deaths were caused by tin roofs flying off and around 1200 were made homeless by flooding.[22] Another 140 people were reported dead from flooding.[23]
Mexico
Areas of northeastern Mexico saw heavy rains with the passage of Allen, with the highest totals exceeding 7 inches (180 mm).[24] The hurricane earlier brushed the Yucatán Peninsula. As Allen only affected sparsely populated regions of Mexico, there were no reports of significant damage.[16]
United States
In Texas, the storm surge was reported as high as 12 feet (3.7 m) at Port Mansfield, though it may have been higher elsewhere along the Texas coast. A peak wind gust of 129 mph (208 km/h) was also measured at Port Mansfield. Tropical storm-force winds in Corpus Christi, Texas blew roof gravel through the city, which led to substantial glass breakage to the 18-story Guarantee Bank Building and a 12-story wing of Spohn hospital.[25] Allen dumped 10 to 20 inches (250 to 510 mm) of rain in south Texas, ending a summer-long drought during the Heat Wave of 1980.[26]
The storm caused seven deaths in Texas and 17 in
Retirement
Because of the hurricane's destructive impacts, the name Allen was retired from the Atlantic tropical storm name list by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 1981, and will never again be used for a future Atlantic hurricane.[28] It was replaced with Andrew for the 1986 season.[29][30]
See also
- List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
- Hurricane Carla (1961) – Category 4 hurricane that took a similar path.
- Hurricane Beulah (1967) – Category 5 hurricane that took a similar path.
- Hurricane Emily (2005) – Category 5 hurricane that took a similar path.
- Hurricane Wilma (2005) – Category 5 hurricane that was the strongest in the Atlantic Ocean in terms of barometric pressure.
- Hurricane Patricia (2015) – Fastest 1-minute sustained winds ever recorded.
- Hurricane Harvey (2017) – Category 4 hurricane that took a similar path.
Notes
- ^ All wind speeds in the article are maximum sustained winds sustained for one minute, unless otherwise noted.
References
- ^ a b c d e f National Hurricane Center (1980). "Hurricane Allen Tropical Cyclone Report Page 2". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ Gilbert Clark (August 1, 1980). "Tropical Depression Advisory Number 1". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ "Discussion for Tropical Storm Allen, 11 p.m. EDT, August 1, 1980". National Hurricane Center. August 2, 1980. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ John Hope (August 2, 1980). "Discussion for Tropical Storm Allen, 11 a.m. EDT, August 2, 1980". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ Paul Hebert (August 3, 1980). "Discussion for Tropical Storm Allen, 11 a.m. EDT, August 3, 1980". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Neil Frank (August 3, 1980). "Discussion for Hurricane Allen, 2:30 p.m. EDT, August 3, 1980". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ Gilbert Clark (August 4, 1980). "Discussion for Hurricane Allen, 11 p.m. EDT, August 3, 1980". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ Neil Frank (August 4, 1980). "Discussion for Hurricane Allen, 11 a.m. EDT, August 4, 1980". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ Miles Lawrence (August 4, 1980). "Discussion for Hurricane Allen, 5 p.m. EDT, August 4, 1980". National Hurricane Center. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ National Hurricane Center (1980). "Hurricane Allen Tropical Cyclone Report Page 3". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ a b National Hurricane Center (1980). "Hurricane Allen Tropical Cyclone Report Page 4". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ .
- ^ a b c d National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Allen Tropical Cyclone Report Page 5 (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. "EM-DAT: The Emergency Events Database". Université catholique de Louvain.
- ^ a b c d e f g h National Hurricane Center. "Hurricane Allen Tropical Cyclone Report Page 6". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
- ^ Hebert, Paul J; Taylor, Glenn; National Hurricane Center (January 1983). The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes of This Century (and Other Frequently Requested Hurricane Facts) (PDF) (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS TPC-18). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
- . Retrieved February 17, 2010.
- JSTOR 4300098.
- ^ Richard B. Aronson; Kenneth P. Sebens; John P. Ebersole (2003). "Hurricane Hugo's Impact on Salt River Submarine Canyon, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands" (PDF). Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- .
- ^ Jim Williams (2010). Port au prince, Haiti's history with tropical systems. Hurricanecity.com. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
- Saint Petersburg Times. Associated Press. August 12, 1980. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ Joseph E.; Minor P.E.; William L. Beason; Timothy P. Marshall (1981). "Effects of Hurricane Allen on Buildings and Coastal Construction" (PDF). Fourth National Conference on Wind Engineering Research. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 3, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ "Allen Floods Texas, Fizzles Over Mexico". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. August 12, 1980. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ "Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names". Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- NOAAOffice of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research. May 1986. p. 3-7. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Andrew, Agatha, top 1986 list". The Gadsden Times. Gadsden, Alabama. Associated Press. May 23, 1986. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
Further reading
- Marks, Frank D. (1985). "Evolution of the Structure of Precipitation in Hurricane Allen (1980)". Monthly Weather Review. 113 (6): 909–930. .
External links
- National Weather Service - Hurricane Allen
- The Wake of Hurricane Allen in the Western Gulf of Mexico
- Effects of Hurricane Allen on Buildings and Coastal Construction
- Pertinent Meteorological Data for Hurricane Allen of 1980
- KENS-TV (San Antonio) news footage from 1980 of the impact Allen had on Texas