Louisiana Hurricanes

September 10-14th, 1998 (Frances): On the 7th, an area of disturbed weather formed in the Central Gulf of Mexico. It was complex with a broad area of low pressure, induced by a nearby upper low to the west of the circulation. Strong easterly winds had barely relaxed after Charley, which had just made landfall in Texas, before redeveloping. Air Force aircraft investigated the system on the 8th, and a tropical depression was found 220 miles southeast of Corpus Christi. It moved very little over the next 24 hours, slowly strengthening into a tropical storm by the 9th.

Strong winds along the Louisiana and Texas coasts increased, resulting in a large area of coastal flooding. Sabine Pass was cut off to travel by land on the 10th and remained so for the next week, until Hermine passed by to the east.

Frances began to move north on the 10th, and the drought-ending rains began. A large area of tropical storm force winds buffeted the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, worsening the coastal flooding and leading to backwater flooding of area rivers, as water was no longer able to drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Meacom's pier was nearly destroyed. San Luis Pass pier was damaged. Grand Isle went underwater, but water never reached the homes as they were on pilings rising up from the island. Tides ran as high as 5.4 feet at Cameron and Sabine Pass. Five homes in Constance Beach fell into the Gulf, while sand piles up on Holly Beach. Offshore oil platforms saw howling winds reaching as high as 90 mph in gusts.

The system strengthened and moved north as feeder bands moved inland, increasing the rainfall across the region. The deluge caused a large area of 10 inches of rain or more across southern Louisiana and eastern Texas. The highest rain totals noted were 21.10" at Terrytown in Southeast Louisiana and 14.62" at the Lacassine Wildlife Refuge, ten miles south of Lake Arthur. The pressure induced by all the rain in New Orleans caused manholes to be blown skyward. Sections of I-10 in New Orleans and Houston were underwater on the 11th. Roads and bridges were submerged near Corpus Christi. Numerous towns evacuated in the face of flash flooding.

The center made landfall at midnight on the night of the 10th near Matagorda, Texas and became stationary again on the 11th, prolonging the wind and rain. During the 12th, the system resumed its northerly course through East Texas before accelerating into Iowa on the 14th. Rains of five inches or more soaked Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri.

At least 8 tornadoes touched down across the state on the 11th and 12th. Seven tornadoes wreaked havoc across South Central Louisiana near Lake Arthur, Estherwood, Basile, Oberlin, and Lafayette. For more information on the South Central Louisiana tornadoes, see our tornado outbreak page. A Lafourche parish man was killed when a tornado destroyed his mobile home.

The coastal flooding and beach erosion were the worst seen since Carla (1961). River flooding was significant across East Texas and Louisiana. A major disaster declaration was issued for Cameron, Jefferson, Lafourche, and Terrebonne parishes. Over $10 million in damage was experienced across Southwest Louisiana and Extreme Southeast Texas.

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* Author's current affiliation: NWS National Centers for Environmental Prediction - Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, Camp Springs, Maryland