Hurricane season 2011 is in full swing as Tropical Storm Adrian is expected to become a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean south of Acapulco, Mexico. Ten years previously, Tropical Storm Allison formed on the Atlantic side of Mexico and dumped huge amounts of rain in the United States.
The historic storm was the costliest on record to not reach hurricane strength and make landfall in the United States.
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico saw a quick start to hurricane season in 2001. Tropical Storm Allison began forming June 5 about 120 nautical miles south of Galveston, Texas. Once it hit Texas, the storm weakened into a tropical depression but not before dumping 30 inches of rain east of Houston and more than 20 inches of rain in other areas.
The storm moved ashore and weakened before blowing back out to sea and strengthened again. Tropical Storm Allison made landfall in Louisiana and moved through Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina before going to North Atlantic and brushing Cape Cod.
Damage
There were 23 tornadoes spawned by Tropical Storm Allison and coastal flooding inundated Texas and Louisiana. South Carolina had 10 tornadoes alone as the storm disintegrated a week after Allison made landfall.
Flooding was so widespread in southeastern Texas, 14,000 homes were destroyed or suffered major damage. Another 34,000 buildings suffered minor damage from water runoff and heavy rains that leaked into houses.
Storm surges of up to three feet eroded beaches near Galveston and then again in southwestern Louisiana. Flooding due to rain in coastal Texas caused about $5 billion worth of damage, making it the worst tropical storm to hit the United States in history.
Deaths
Flooding caused 23 deaths in Texas alone because the rain was intense within just a few short days. A total of 41 deaths nationwide were attributed to the storm from freshwater flooding, tornadoes and car accidents due to extreme rainfall.
A tornado killed only one person in rural Louisiana. Amazingly, Tropical Storm Allison killed seven people in Pennsylvania and heavy rains flooded out a railroad bridge. Even though Allison wasn't a tropical storm very long over land, the heavy rains caused by the tropical wave threatened dozens of states and caused widespread damage.
As the 2011 hurricane season begins, the 10th anniversary of Tropical Storm Allison can still be felt in Texas. Beaches and lives that were worn away were never the same afterward.
William Browning is a research librarian.
