Hurricane
Rita struck the coast of Southwest Louisiana during the early
morning hours of September 24th, 2005. Earlier in the week,
this powerful storm reached Category 5 strength as it trekked
northwest across the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane had
weakened slightly to a strong Category 4 storm a couple of days
prior to landfall. As it approached the coast, Rita weakened
to a Category 3 storm with winds nearly 120 mph. The hurricane
came ashore near Johnson Bayou in western Cameron Parish, Louisiana
and continued to move northwest into Southeast and Eastern Texas,
bringing hurricane force winds 150 miles inland.
The worst damage from
Hurricane Rita occurred along the Southwest Louisiana coastline. Hurricane
force winds and storm surge battered the coasts of Cameron and Vermilion
Parishes for several hours as the storm moved inland. As a result, many
homes, businesses and other structures were completely destroyed.
The National Weather
Service (NWS) in Lake Charles has completed a comparison of the storm surge
with the strength and direction of the winds associated with hurricane Rita
as it made landfall. Wind data is provided courtesy of the NWS Automated
Surface Observation System (ASOS) at Lake Charles, the National Ocean
Service (NOS) site in Cameron, as well as other automated gage systems owned
by national, state or local entities. Water data is provided courtesy of
NOS sites and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) river gages, and crest data
based on water mark surveys courtesy of local engineers. All references to
time are in Central Daylight Time (CDT), and water level data has been
referenced to Mean Sea Level (MSL).
Southwest Louisiana
first began to feel the effects of the approaching storm early on Friday,
September 23rd. Several hours before landfall, the circulation around the
storm produced northeast winds across Southwest Louisiana. Shortly after
noon, a little more than 12 hours before landfall, wind speeds across
Southwest Louisiana were beginning to gust to tropical storm force (39 mph).
River levels in the lower Calcasieu and lower Mermentau basins were steady
or falling slightly. On the north end of Calcasieu Lake, at Hackberry,
water levels were dropping sharply, before the gage became inoperable.
As Rita�s eye approached
the coast west of the town of Cameron, northeast winds increased. By
mid-afternoon, tropical storm force winds were sustained along the coast
near Cameron, reaching Lake Charles within the next few hours. At Cameron,
water levels were generally steady until late afternoon, when they began
increasing. Winds at Cameron were northeast, approaching 50 mph by this
time. According to eyewitnesses, around 4 PM, water began piling up along
the coast due to the strength of the winds, forming a �wall� of water just
offshore. In the lower Mermentau basin, water levels showed a decline
through the afternoon.
By Friday evening, the
storm was churning just off the Southwest Louisiana coastline. Winds
remained northeast across the area, strengthening to hurricane force by
midnight. Water levels at Cameron began rising sharply, reaching nearly 7
feet just before midnight. Unfortunately, the gage failed after this time.
Inland, water levels decreased near Lake Charles as the strong northeast
winds pushed water toward the Gulf.
Winds and surge were
most pronounced across Southwest Louisiana. Many of the wind sensors
failed as the storm approached the coast. However, the Remote Automated
Weather Station (RAWS) at Holmwood (about 6 miles east of the Lake Charles
Regional Airport) remained operational. Although the primary wind sensor
stopped operating at the Lake Charles airport, the RAWS wind sensor as well
as a backup wind sensor and observations at the National Weather Service
office indicated winds shifted east around midnight. At that time, water
levels began to increase dramatically. As the eye made landfall between 2
and 3 AM on the 24th, the wind directions turned southeasterly at Lake
Charles. Winds speeds at Lake Charles were around 70 mph with gusts over
100 mph.
Storm surge was highest
across Southwest Louisiana, just east of where the eye of Rita made
landfall. Surge values have been estimated around 15 feet along the
immediate coastline based on watermarks inside buildings. The surge
traveled inland along bayous and waterways.
Once the eye moved
inland, southeasterly winds continued across Southwest Louisiana. Speeds
gradually decreased, but remained above tropical storm force for several
hours. Water levels continued to rise for the next several hours, cresting
around noon.
The National Weather
Service office in Lake Charles also maintains staff gages on the lower
Calcasieu River at the Port of Lake Charles, at Old Town Bay and on the west
fork of the Calcasieu River at Sam Houston Jones State Park. These gages
are not automated, and must be observed manually. Based on surveys within a
couple of days after the surge crested and on eyewitness accounts of
individuals who �rode out� the storm near these locations, the crests at
these sites were estimated at 11.0 feet MSL at the Port of Lake Charles, at 10.0 feet MSL at
Old Town Bay, and at 8.5 feet MSL at Sam Houston Jones State Park. The 11.0
foot reading at the Port of Lake Charles is the second highest crest on record for that
site. Time estimates of these crests based on the eyewitnesses indicate the
crests occurred around noon or early afternoon on the 24th.
To view the graphical wind and storm surge data for Southwest Louisiana,
click here.
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