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Hurricane Beulah

| September 19, 2008 @ 10:17 pm | 3 Replies

On September 17, 1967, Hurricane Beulah was entering the Gulf of Mexico after spending ten days crossing the Caribbean. The storm formed just east of the Windward Islands on September 7th. It strengthened rapidly as it moved across the eastern Caribbean. When it was about 100 miles south of Puerto Rico, Air Force Reconnaissance measured a central pressure of 940 millibars. The hurricane battered the southern coast of Hispaniola on the 11th.

Almost inexplicably, the hurricane weakened dramatically on the 12th, and was downgraded to tropical storm. It turned southwestward, dodging the island of Jamaica. It then turned west northwestward and battered Cozumel on the 16th with winds of 100 mph. On the afternoon of the 17th, Bertha emerged into the southern Gulf of Mexico, with max winds of 75 mph and a minimum pressure of 977 millibars. Responsibility for advisories and warnings was transferred to the Weather Bureau in New Orleans. The National Hurricane Center had already been established, but advisories will were issued by regional offices. Forecasters were faced with the sobering prospect of a hurricane over the warm waters of the Gulf. On their first advisory, a hurricane watch was issued for the Texas Coast. Initial projections were that it would move toward the mouth of the Rio Grande. A peak intensity of 115 mph was forecast.

By lunchtime on Monday, September 18th, Beulah had already achieved that intensity, churning the waters of the Southwest Gulf about 370 miles southeast of Brownsville. There was a great deal of uncertainty in the track forecast. Air Force reconnaissance indicated that the central pressure continued to drop throughout the day, and the Weather Bureau warned that Beulah was on the border of becoming a “great hurricane” with a central pressure of 949 millibars. Conditions were still favorable for intensification.

At 5 a.m. on Tuesday, emergency hurricane warnings were hoisted on the Texas coast to Port Aransas. That evening, the Air Force plane found a pressure of 923 millibars, the lowest ever observed by recon to that time. Highest winds were raised to 160 mph. At 2 a.m., hurricane warnings were extended northward to Matagorda Bay as the hurricane came under surveillance of the Brownsville radar and a more northwesterly course was indicated.

The hurricane fortunately weakened during the evening of the 19th, and when it crossed the coast between Brownsville and the Rio Grande on the morning of September 20th the central pressure had increased to 950 millibars. Storm surge reached 18 feet on South Padre Island. Top winds of 109 mph were observed at Brownsville before the equipment was damaged. Significant river flooding occurred on the Rio Grande from the heavy rains. Beulah caused a record number of tornadoes from a landfalling tropical cyclone until that time: 115.

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About the Author ()

Bill Murray is the President of The Weather Factory. He is the site's official weather historian and a weekend forecaster. He also anchors the site's severe weather coverage. Bill Murray is the proud holder of National Weather Association Digital Seal #0001 @wxhistorian

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