Upper Texas Coast Tropical Cyclones in the 1910s

[Map of the 1910s Storms]

1918

HURRICANE (Cat. 2* - August 7th landfall)
This was a fast moving hurricane with a small diameter but great intensity as it struck western LA. Sulphur, LA recorded 125 mph winds and a pressure of 28.36 inches. The wind velocity at Lake Charles reached an estimated 100 mph, but the area of destruction was only about 25 miles wide. Thirty-four lives were lost in Louisiana, and damage totaled $5 million.

* - Hurrtrak data indicated a Category 2 status; NHC/TPC documents had peak at a Category 3.

1915

Season Track Map

HURRICANE (Cat. 3* - August 17th landfall)
This was a severe hurricane which made landfall 30 miles southwest of Galveston with "fearful violence." 275 lives were lost even though the Weather Bureau had issued warnings 24 hours in advance. This was the first real test of the Galveston seawall, which had been built after the devastating 1900 storm and proved invaluable for protection of the city. Sustained winds reached 120 mph, the barometer fell to 28.06" in the eye and the storm surge reached 16.2' with wave crests of 21'. The storm was of particular long duration, being several times longer than that in 1900. The storm surge flooded parts of the city for 40 hours and waves caused considerable erosion at the foot of the seawall. The seawall embankment was eroded and the pavement on top was destroyed from 6th to 18th street. Several houses and buildings near the seawall were undermined and destroyed. The seawall's only damage was two small chips near 39th street where the four-masted schooner "Crockett" was blown over the wall while dragging two anchors. The anchors caught on the toe of the wall and the schooner was pounded to pieces on top of the wall, scattering pieces of the hull, masts, and cargo all over the west end of town. An example of the strength of this hurricane is the fact that the Trinity Shoals buoy in the Gulf of Mexico was blown 10 miles to the west. The buoy weighed 21,000 lbs; its anchor and chain weighed 9,750 lbs. The Houston area recorded 80 mph winds (estimated), $1 million damage, and 3 deaths. This hurricane also destroyed Cape San Antonio, Cuba. Total damage from this vicious system was $50 million.

Before the storm, the beach extended out up to 300' on the gulf side of the seawall; afterwards, it was completely gone. Most of the beach sand was deposited in a sandbar several hundred feet offshore where a large quantity moved inshore eventually. The beach has never built up to any extent since, except on the east end. After the storm, General Roberts, whose original design for the seawall had been modified somewhat by the city, was called in and changes made to improve the effectiveness of the wall in future storms.

* - Was a Category 4 well offshore, but weakened to a Category 3 by landfall.

[Map of the 1910s Storms]