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Research Projects » Hurricane Bret (August 1999)
...THE STREAK IS OVER - HURRICANE BRET STRIKES TEXAS!...
In 1989, Hurricanes Chantal and
Jerry made landfall along the Upper Texas coast.
Since then, the state had gone nine straight hurricane seasons without a landfalling hurricane. The streak came to an end on August
22, 1999 when powerful Hurricane Bret made landfall along the South Texas coast. Bret was a major hurricane - Category 3 on the
Saffir-Simpson scale - making him the first major hurricane to
strike the Lone Star State since Hurricane Alicia
slammed into the upper Texas coast in August 1983.
Bret made landfall in Kenedy County, roughly halfway between Corpus Christi and Brownsville, which is one of the most unpopulated
and underdeveloped counties along the Texas coast. Bret's wind structure was small with hurricane force winds confined to a small area near
the eye of the system. This compact structure kept damage costs on the low side. Preliminary estimates place Bret's total damage at
$15 million. In comparison, 1998's Tropical Storm Frances
caused $287 million damage to the middle and upper Texas coast - nearly 30 times the amount of Bret! If Bret had made landfall a little further
north toward Corpus Christi or a little further south toward Brownsville, damage would have undoubtedly been much higher.
Rainfall history for Bret can be found here.
Much more information on Bret is available in the Tropical Prediction Center's
Tropical Cyclone Report.
- Post Storm Reports
- Meteorological Data
- Internet sites for Satellite Images
- Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS)
- National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)
- NOAA's Satellite Service Division
- John's Hopkins University
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