The Top 10 Weather Events of the Decade...

Sunday, January 3, 2009

The Top 10 Weather Events of the 2000s

We have closed the books on the first decade of the 21st century. It was quite a decade in every aspect. There are prime examples of this in the world of weather as well. The purpose of this blog entry will focus on what I've chosen as the top most significant weather events from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009. It was a decade that saw everything from a killer heat wave to a series of 5 tropical systems in 3 years, to accumulating snowfall in back to back years.There is one event that truly defines the decade that was the 2000s. This event single-handedly changed SW Louisiana forever, and it will be engraved in the minds of all of us forever. As was the case for the Top 10 Weather Events of 2009, I have narrowed the area of coverage down to the forecast area. Perhaps, in the coming days I will take a look back at the top weather events of the decade from across the country. Now, it's time to reveal the list.

10) Hurricane Lili- (October 3, 2002)- Lili was one of the strongest late season hurricanes to affect the Gulf Coast. Lili became the most significant storm to hit Louisiana since Andrew in 1992. Lili formed over the open waters of the Atlantic in late September, and traversed the Caribbean Sea. Lili struggled for survival earlier, but once it got into the Caribbean Sea Lili became a very formidable storm. Lili traveled the length of the Eastern and Central Caribbean, sparing many of the island nations of a direct impact. Lili became a hurricane on the evening of September 30 just off the coast of Southern Cuba. Lili was destined for the Gulf of Mexico, and conditions were very favorable for strengthening over the Gulf as the waters remained very warm, and a large area of high pressure was centered to the NE of Lili. By the 29th, all indications suggested that Lili would be a direct threat to SE Texas/SW Louisiana, but the exact track was still uncertain, and the degree of intensity was uncertain as well. Lili continued her WNW to NNW heading into the Gulf of Mexico, and underwent a period of rapid strengthening on October 2...reaching category 4 intensity with 140 mph winds off the coast of South Central Louisiana. Lili was expected to make landfall as a major hurricane on the morning of October 3 between Cameron and Vermilion Bay. Mandatory evacuations were issued for all coastal parishes, and many locations along the I-10 corridor. Remarkably, Lili rapidly weakened, almost as fast as it had strengthened in the previous 24 hours. Lili's ultimate fate was making landfall in SE Vermilion Parish with winds around 100 mph around dawn on Thursday,  October 3. Lili continued to the NNW and weakened as it moved further inland. Lili's forecast track essentially split the Louisiana side of the forecast area with a track from near Vermilion Bay to New Iberia to Crowley to Alexandria, and then into NE Louisiana reaching Monroe on the evening of October 3 as a tropical storm. While Lili caused significant damage across much of South and Central Louisiana, no lives were lost.

9) Hurricane Humberto- (September 13, 2007)- Humberto, while quite small in size, was very influential not only for SW Louisiana, but for the record books for hurricanes! Humberto was the only hurricane of the 2007 season to make landfall in the U.S., and it was the first since Wilma in 2005. Humberto established the all-time record for fastest growing storm. That is, strengthening from a tropical depression to a hurricane in just a few hours. What else made it so remarkable was its close proximity to the coast. No storm had ever strengthened as rapidly as Humberto near the coast. An area of showers and thunderstorms persisted over the Northern Gulf for several days in September 2007 along an old frontal boundary. Humberto became a tropical depression on September 12, and became a hurricane in just 14 hours, reaching said hurricane status early on September 13. Landfall occurred around sunrise on the 13th between Sabine Pass and Sea Rim State Park in Jefferson County in SE Texas with 85 mph winds. The Golden Triangle was most significantly impacted by this storm, and many areas impacted were still recovering from Hurricane Rita. The eye of Humberto curved to the NE into Calcasieu Parish, and passed just 20 miles from Lake Charles. Damage was minimal across SW Louisiana. 120,000 customers lost power mostly over in SE Texas, and damage estimates were around $60 million.

8) The 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season- The 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season was like no other! It was historical in many ways. An average hurricane season consists of 10 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. However, 2005 would be over 2 "normal" seasons put together. La Nina years often produce an average season, however, even what happened in 2005 was an anomaly. The 2005 Hurricane Season features 28 named storms. There are only 21 actual names on each year's list. The letters Q, U, X, Y, & Z are absent from each list because there's not even names to cycle through over the course of the 6 year rotation. So, for the first time in history the National Hurricane Center ran out of names on the season's list of named storms. The list began with Arlene and ended with Wilma, and upon conclusion of this list the Greek alphabet was used. Several names on the Greek alphabet had to be used...Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta. In all, there were 15 hurricanes and 13 tropical storms, plus subtropical storm in the 2005 hurricane season. Many of the storms were non-influential. The 2005 season may not be remembered for how many storms occurred during the season, but more so for the memorable and devastating storms it produced. Katrina, Rita, and Wilma were all once category 5 storms, and made landfall along the Gulf Coast as major hurricanes. Katrina was the worst natural disaster in recorded history in the U.S., and Rita was the worst natural disaster for SW Louisiana. Wilma was the second storm to devastate the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico during the season...Hurricane Emily being the other. Wilma also broke the record for the strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin. Wilma weakened and moved towards South Florida causing major damage. Katrina and Rita also established numerous records, including briefly holding for the 2nd strongest storm ever in the Atlantic Basin.

7) Lake Charles Hailstorm- (June 4, 2007)- The June 4, 2007 Hail storm was the worst hail storm in the history of the great city of Lake Charles. A late spring severe weather outbreak produced this hail storm. Often times in late May-early June severe weather can occur across the area as a NW flow is established, and squall lines form along frontal boundaries to our NW and race to the SE. This is exactly what happened on the afternoon of June 4, 2007. On this Monday afternoon, an isolated severe thunderstorm developed in East Texas near the town of Corrigan. The storm moved SE along a outflow boundary draped across the area from the previous day's storms. The storm steadily intensified as it approached the Lake Charles area. The storm was a long-track supercell, and began producing large hail and damaging winds around Woodward and Colmesneil in SE Texas. The storm moved into SW Beauregard and NW Calcaiseu Parish producing 50-70 mph winds, and large hail. The strong winds and hail were heading straight for Lake Charles. The storm moved into the city between 5 and 6p.m. and winds of up to 80 mph occurred, downing many trees across the area. Hail up to golf-ball size occurred in South Lake Charles, and it covered the ground in many areas. The highest winds reported with the storm occurred SE of town with reports of winds near 90 mph before the storm began to weaken as it moved out of Calcasieu Parish. The total damage done by the hail storm is estimated to be at a conservative $500,000.

6) Hurricane Gustav- (September 1, 2008)- Gustav was the second of three tropical systems to affect the region during the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season. It was by far more influential than Tropical Storm Edouard in early August. This Labor Day storm resulted in the largest evacuation in state history. Gustav developed in the Caribbean Sea South of the Dominican Republic on August 25. Gustav was small in size initially, but quickly strengthened into a category 1 hurricane before making its first landfall over Haiti with 90 mph winds on August 26. Gustav weakened to a tropical storm due to his interaction with the landmasses of the Central Caribbean, but steady state strengthening again commenced once Gustav pulled away from Jamaica. Gustav grew larger in diameter at this point with the wind field nearly double in size. Gustav became a hurricane again on August 29. Gustav underwent an incredible strengthening period, and thrashed Cuba as a category 4 storm with 150 mph winds. Gustav weakened only slightly as it crossed Cuba, and was bound for the Gulf of Mexico, where favorable conditions for re-strengthening existed. Gustav emerged into the Gulf as a major hurricane, and was forecated to make landfall somewhere in Louisiana on Monday or Tuesday September 1-2, 2008. It was expected that Gustav would make landfall as a category 4 storm in already hurricane weary Louisiana. However, Gustav never re-strengthened. Gustav continued to slowly weaken as it moved NW through the Gulf, however, its associated category 4 storm surge was still raging. It is not totally understood at this point why Gustav weakened. Ultimately, Gustav made its U.S. landfall in the NWS Slidell area of responsibility along the coast near Cocodrie, LA. Gustav was a borderline category 2/category 3 storm at landfall with winds of 110 mph. The storm continued to move NW and essentially paralleled the Highway 90/I-49 corridor and slowly weakened through the day. Gustav spread hurricane force winds over a large portion of South Louisiana including all of Acadiana. Tropical Storm force winds were experienced into SE Texas. The worst of the damage in SW Louisiana from Gustav occurred from Morgan City to Franklin to New Iberia, Breaux Bridge, Lafayette, and up through Mamou and towards Alexandria. As Gustav spun down, the heavy rainfall and spin-off tornadoes became more of an issue. Severe flooding occurred across Northern Acadiana and into Central Louisiana between the 1st and 3rd. Tornadic feeder bands occurred during the overnight hours of September 2 into the 3rd. The worst tornado occurred near Mamou where 2 fatalities occurred. 2 fatalities occurred in Moss Bluff as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator. Rainfall totals of 15-25" occurred across portions of Rapides, Avoyelles, Allen, Evangeline, and St. Landry Parishes. The total cost of damage from Gustav is estimated at $4.3 billion, most of this in Louisiana.

5) Hurricane Ike- (September 13, 2008)- Hot on the heels of Gustav was Ike. Ike formed over the open waters of the Atlantic, just as we were dealing with the worst of Gustav. Ike was a very devastating storm to SW Louisiana, and by far the worst storm to affect our area in 2008. Ike affected the region exactly one year after Hurricane Humberto. Ike was much more significant. Ike traversed the Atlantic and warm waters of the Caribbean Sea and reached category 4 intensity before making his first landfall in the Southern Bahamas over the island of Great Inagua. In a bit weaker state, at category 3 strength, Ike slammed into Eastern Cuba on Monday September 8, and wreaked havoc on Cuba for over 24 hours. Cuba was still reeling from Gustav. Ike weakened to a minimal category 1 hurricane with 75 mph as it finally crossed the Western tip of Cuba on Tuesday the 9th. Ike re-strengthened steadily over the Gulf of Mexico, as it headed to the NW. Ike had 100 mph winds-category 2 on the morning of Thursday, the 11th. What is most notable about Ike at this time was its massive wind field! The hurricane force winds with Ike extended outward to 180 miles from the center while tropical storm force winds extended outward to 450 miles (nearly the whole Gulf.) Ike maintained its massive wind field, and created a large, devastating storm surge in the Gulf. Ike was forecast to continue to slowly strengthen, and make landfall as a major hurricane. Ike leveled off in intensity near the threshold of category 3 strength. Ike's landfall occurred near Galveston, TX early on Saturday, the 13th. Even though landfall occurred at Galveston, the large nature of Ike resulted in hurricane conditions in portions of SW Louisiana with a top wind gust just shy of 80 mph at Lake Charles. Ike gained most of his notoriety in SW Louisiana from his devastating storm surge. In some areas, water levels were higher than that of Hurricane Rita just 3 years before. The storm surge moved as far as inland as Downtown Lake Charles once again resulting in record flooding along the Southern flank of the Calcasieu River.

4) Hurricane Katrina- (August 29, 2005)- There are not enough words to talk about this disaster! I rank it at #4 on this list, simply because it didn't directly impact SW Louisiana. Katrina is by far the worst natural and man-made disaster in U.S. history. Katrina became a category 5 hurricane with winds of 175 mph in the North Central Gulf on Sunday, August 28, 2005. It was directly aimed at New Orleans and SE Louisiana. This was the storm many had feared for greater New Orleans. Katrina began weakening during the afternoon of the 28th after reaching her peak intensity that morning. It continued moving towards SE Louisiana, and would make landfall around sunrise on Monday, the 29th, first near Buras, LA as a category 3 with 125 mph winds. However, the storm surge was equivalent to that of a category 5. It takes longer for the waves to die down than it does the wind. Katrina moved inland over the Mississippi Delta Region of SE Louisiana, and passed just East of the city of New Orleans. Final landfall occurred mid-morning Monday the 29th near the Louisiana/Mississippi Border at the mouth of the Pearl River as a category 2. The highest and worst storm surge in recorded U.S. history occurred along the Mississippi Gulf Coast with a reading of 32' at Long Beach. In Louisiana, much of SE Louisiana suffered severe wind and surge damage. In New Orleans, it appeared that the city had dodged the worst of the storm with the eye passing just East of downtown. However, the strong Northerly winds on the back side of Katrina pushed the water of Lake Pontchartrain towards the city and against the levee system in and around New Orleans. Several levee breeches occurred leading to catastrophic flooding. Nearly 80% of the city of New Orleans was flooded. Thousands of residents who were unable to evacuate sought refuge at the Superdome. Katrina resulted in 1,833 total deaths, with 1,577 deaths in Louisiana...mostly from drowning in the storm surge! The total damage estimates for Katrina are $81 billion. This is by far the costliest natural disaster on record in the U.S.

3)  Earliest Snowfall on Record in Back-to-Back Years (2008 & 2009)- Snow is an anomaly in SW Louisiana and SE Texas. It had been nearly 20 years since an accumulating snowfall occurred in parts of the forecast area, but the streak ended on December 11, 2008. An upper level low in the wake of a strong cold front moved directly across the area. This brought down additional cold air to the surface. The cold air generated by the ULL created enough lift and instability to generate precipitation. Most of which fell in the form of snow during the early morning hours of Thursday, December 11. The snow fell hard and fast and resulted in accumulations up to 6" across parts of the forecast area. Snow fell all the way to the immediate coast, but accumulations there were very light. Around 1" accumulated in Lake Charles. It was the heaviest December and earliest snowfall on record for Lake Charles, Beaumont, and New Iberia. It was the heaviest December snowfall on record at Lafayette, and the only time snow has fallen in the month of December at Lafayette. Snowfall amounts were limited across the Northern edge of the forecast area with only trace amounts at Alexandria. December 11, 2008 marked the earliest occurrence of accumulating snowfall, and this broke a record which was established in December of 1989. However, the new record would not last long. On December 4, 2009 it happened again! Accumulating snow in South Louisiana in back to back years...the scenario played out a bit differently this time! A Gulf low developed in an active El Nino pattern across the area, there was also the presence of an upper level disturbance moving across Texas, and at the same time a shot of Arctic air was spilling into Texas. Rain overspread the area on the morning of Friday, December 4, and by afternoon began changing to snow from North to South across the forecast area as the colder air moved in. By that Friday evening, a transition to all snow had occurred all the way down into coastal parishes. The immediate coast saw some snow, but it was more of rain/snow mix for those areas. Snow fell heavy enough on top of the wet ground, that it began accumulating. While it only snowed for a few hours, much of what fell remained on the ground overnight into Saturday the 5th. Amounts varied once again across the area, as is usual with snow events. The heaviest snow occurred north of I-10 once again with swaths of 2-3" of snow. Lake Charles officially recorded .2" of snow, however much of the area saw totals between .5-1" of snow. The heaviest snow amount for this event occurred at Eunice where 3" occurred. The .2" at Lake Charles broke the record set in 2008 for earliest accumulating snowfall on record. It also marked the first time in 60 years that snow had accumulated in back to back years across SW Louisiana. Snow fell in January of 1948 and 1949. This was only the 2nd time in recorded history that this feat has happened.

2) Extreme Heat Wave (August-September 2000)- We are used to hot summers in SW Louisiana! However, what happened in late August-early September 2000 is unprecedented. It was the hottest week ever in SW Louisiana beginning on August 29, and ending on September 5. A large area of high pressure from the Desert SW built into SW Louisiana and SE Texas late in August 2000. This shut down our typical afternoon shower and thunderstorm activity that we depend on to cool it off on those hot summer afternoons. The strong high suppressed vertical growth of the usual daily crop of cumulus clouds. The position of the high eliminated the effects of the sea breeze as well. Temperatures soared well over the century mark at all locations for the dates above. Each reporting site established an all-time record high during this heat wave. That's all-time high for any month, not just the month of August. An all-time high for the month of September was established as well for all reporting sites. The heat wave peaked at Lake Charles at Thursday, August 31 when the mercury soared to an incredible 107 degrees. This broke the previous record for all-time high of 106 set in June of 1930. Some readings of 110 degrees were common across the area during this heat wave. The heat wave finally broke after a very hot Labor Day in 2000. Temperatures were still above normal on September 6 with readings between 95-100, but finally a cold front came through and it was much cooler on the 7th with highs only in the 70s.

Now, here's the the weather event that defined the decade in SW Louisiana...

1) Hurricane Rita- (September 23-24, 2005)- This is the event that defines the whole decade. Rita is by far the most memorable weather event of the decade of the 2000s, and likely the most memorable weather event around these parts in recorded history. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that Rita would be ranked as the #1 weather event of the decade in SW Louisiana. Rita changed SW Louisiana forever! It was our worst natural disaster in history, and while the loss of life didn't hale in comparison to Katrina, it was just as bad or worse as far as amount of damage that was inflicted. Rita, at its strongest point, was stronger than Katrina. It was a storm that was originally forecast to be a threat to the Central Texas Coast in the vicinity of Corpus Christi. However, a strong ridge of high pressure over the Texas Hill Country and the persistent Bermuda High over the SE U.S. steered Rita in our direction. Rita formed from a tropical wave near the Turks and Caicos Islands on September 17. The system was in a very favorable environment for development, and Rita became a hurricane before making its first landfall in South Florida. Rita weakened a bit as it moved through South Florida, and emerged over the Florida Straits as a tropical storm on September 20. From this point, Rita strengthened rapidly as it moved further away from Florida and up into the extremely warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Rita reached its peak intensity on Wednesday, September 21. Rita began weakening a bit during the day on Thursday, September 22, but remained a very powerful and serious hurricane. Rita's landfall occurred early on Saturday, September 24 at 2:38a.m. near Johnson Bayou with 120 mph winds-category 3. A category 4 storm surge was experienced with Rita. The storm surge wiped out much of Cameron Parish, and extended into Lake Charles. Extensive wind damage occurred from Beaumont to Lake Charles with winds into category 3 hurricane strength. The damage from the storm surge and the winds equaled or surpassed that of Katrina, I don't care what anyone says. Rita was the storm this area has feared for 48 years since the days of Audrey, and it is now the benchmark storm for SW Louisiana. Thankfully, the loss of life was minimal, but the total damage was estimated at $10 billion.

This wraps up my look back at the 2000s. You can clearly see that Rita was the event that defined the decade that was 2000-2009. Hopefully, we'll never have to witness such a horrifying event again. The 2000s were wild in more ways than one in the world of weather, who knows what it's in store for the 2010-2019 period. The new decade in weather has begun. Happy New Year, and thanks for taking a look back with me! As time permits, I will take a quick look back at the year and decade that was in weather across the country.

-DM-