An American Tragedy: 50th Anniversary of Hurricane Audrey
Fifty years ago this evening--on the night of June 26, 1957--residents of Cameron, Louisiana slept uneasily. Cameron, population 3,000, sat on the coast just above sea level, about 30 miles east of Texas. Hurricane Audrey roared across the dark waters of the Gulf of Mexico towards Cameron that night, lashing the coast with high winds and heavy rain. Many residents had heeded calls to evacuate from Audrey's 100 mph winds and predicted 5-9 foot storm surge that afternoon. But the old timers, familiar with how the surrounding dunes had protected Cameron in the past, stayed put. It was, after all, June, and severe hurricanes in June were almost unheard of. Besides, the storm was not expected to hit until the following afternoon, so there was still time to evacuate in the morning if things looked bad. The remarkable mass exodus of thousands of crawfish from the marshes surrounding Cameron that night apparently did not concern the old timers, who figured they had more sense than crawdads. But the crawdads could apparently sense what the old timers could not--sea surface temperatures were a full 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit above average in the Gulf of Mexico, with a large upper level anticyclone bringing near-zero wind shear over Audrey. This perfect recipe for rapid intensification meant that Audrey was not going to be a mere Category 2 hurricane at landfall. An additional ingredient unfavorable for intensification--the approach of a trough of low pressure with increased wind shear--would not occur in time to weaken the storm. However, the approaching trough did bring an increase in steering current winds at mid- and high levels of the atmosphere, which doubled the forward speed of Audrey overnight.
Figure 1. Radar image of Hurricane Audrey on June 27, 1957, a few hours before landfall. Image credit: US Air Force/NOAA.
Not everyone got the warning a hurricane was coming, since Cameron was isolated and didn't get good radio reception. Television sets were still too new to be commonplace. Those Cameron residents who were able to get the warnings saw this before they went to bed June 26:
NEW ORLEANS WEATHER BUREAU
HURRICANE WARNING AND ADVISORY NUMBER 7 AUDREY
10 PM CST JUNE 26 1957
CHANGE TO HURRICANE WARNINGS 10 PM CST O UPPER TEXAS COAST AS FAR SOUTH AS HIGH ISLAND. LOWER STORM WARNINGS EAST OF LOUISIANA TO PENSACOLA>
AT 10 PM CST...0400Z...HURRICANE AUDREY WAS CENTERED ABOUT 235 MILES SOUTH OF LAKE CHARLES LOUISIANA NEAR LATITUDE 27.0 LONGITUDE 93.5 MOVING NORTHWARD ABOUT 10 MPH. THIS MOVEMENT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AND THE AREA FROM HIGH ISLAND TO MORGAN CITY IS EXPECTED TO BEAR THE BRUNT OF THIS HURRICANE THURSDAY.
HIGHEST WINDS ARE ESTIMATED 100 MPH NEAR CENTER AND GALES EXTEND OUT 150 TO 200 MILES TO EAST AND NORTH OF CENTER AND 50 MILES TO THE SOUTHWEST.
TIDES ARE EXPECTED TO REACH 5 TO 9 FEET FROM HIGH ISLAND TEXAS TO MORGAN CITY LOUISIANA AND 3 TO 6 FEET ELSEWHERE FROM FREEPORT TEXAS TO BILOXI MISSISSIPPI BY LATE THURSDAY. ALL PERSONS IN LOW EXPOSED PLACES SHOULD MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND. WINDS ARE INCREASING ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS AND LOUISIANA COASTS AND WILL REACH GALE FORCE TONIGHT AND EARLY THURSDAY.
HURRICANE WARNINGS ARE DISPLAYED ALONG THE ENTIRE LOUISIANA COAST AND ON THE UPPER TEXAS COAST AS FAR SOUTH AS HIGH ISLAND AND STORM WARNINGS AT GALVESTON. THE THREAT OF HURRICANE FORCE WINDS OVER SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA HAS LESSENED CONSIDERABLY.
NEXT ADVISORY AT 4 AM CST BULLETIN AT 1 AM CST.
CONNER WEATHER BUREAU NEW ORLEANS
Overnight, Audrey intensified rapidly, and more than doubled her forward speed from the 7 mph speed observed that afternoon. When residents of Cameron awoke on June 27, the escape routes had already been flooded by the storm surge. Audrey now packed top winds of 145-150 mph--an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane, the most powerful June hurricane on record. A massive storm surge of 12 feet swept through the bayous the morning of June 27, pushing inland over 25 miles. The final death toll will never be known, but it is thought 550 people--including over 100 children--perished in Audrey. It was America's deadliest hurricane disaster between the time of the New England Hurricane of 1938 (682 killed) and Hurricane Katrina of 2005 (1833 killed).
Comparison of Audrey and Rita
Why was Audrey so much deadlier than Hurricane Rita of 2005? Rita hit the same region of coast with weaker winds (Category 3, 115 mph), but a storm surge even higher (15 feet). Rita destroyed virtually 100% of Cameron, whereas Audrey destroyed 75% of the town. Nearly two years later, Cameron is mostly just concrete slabs and trailers, thanks to Rita. However, Rita caused only one direct death in Southwest Louisiana--a drowning in Lake Charles. The answer is preparedness. Rita was a massive Category 5 hurricane several days before landfall, giving people plenty of time to receive the warnings and evacuate. Warning systems are much better now than in 1957, and Cameron was deserted when Rita hit. But Audrey did something hurricane forecasters still fear could cause a high death toll in the future, despite our better warning systems--rapid intensification with a sudden forward speed increase overnight, bringing a much stronger hurricane to the coast far earlier than expected. If this nightmare scenario happens to one of our major cities in the future, another Audrey-like death toll could easily result.
Figure 2. Comparison of wind gusts from Audrey (1957) and Hurricane Rita (2005), which both hit the same region of coast. Image credit: NOAA.
Other Audrey links
The National Weather Service Lake Charles Office's 50th anniversary of Hurricane Audrey web page. They've got a nice SLOSH model animation of the storm surge, plus radar images and meteorological data.
The NOAA history web site has the story, "My Battle with Audrey", a graphic first-hand description of an Audrey survivor.
Nola Mae Ross has written a book about Hurricane Audrey. Here's the web site to buy the book from.
Wikipedia.
Remembering Audrey by Ron Thibodeaux, writer for the Times-Picayune newspaper.
Louisiana101.com has photos of the memorial at the mass grave where hundreds of Audrey's victims are buried. I found this memorable poem by student Lucas Lasha on the website:
In '57 she began with a roar
No one knew she was comin' ashore
Most people were asleep in bed
Not knowing they should have fled.
After the fury of the storm's huge eye
Families cried for members who did die
Lady Audrey would long be remembered
As the fateful day that Cameron surrendered
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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Thanks again
The temp is still rising here, could get within a degree or 2 from 100 before more clouds and maybe an isolated thunderstorm(hopefully) moves im.
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Thanks again
Your friend probably read the Palm Beach Post this morning. They said on the front page of the local section that winds will gust up to 50 MPH.
There could be heavy rainfall in a couple days here as well, which would be nice since it has been rather dry this month:
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL DISCUSSION
NWS HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER CAMP SPRINGS MD
145 PM EDT TUE JUN 26 2007
...VALID 18Z TUE JUN 26 2007 - 00Z THU JUN 28 2007...
...REFERENCE AWIPS GRAPHIC UNDER...DAY 1 EXCESSIVE RAINFALL...
...KS/OK/TX...
SITU OVR THE SRN PLNS REGION SHOWS LITTLE CHNG THIS PD. BROAD
MID/UPR CIRCULATION CENTER OVR THE SRN PLNS...WITH SVRL SMALLER
MCVS/VORTS ARE PROGGED TO MOV SLOLY OVR THE REGION AND PROVIDE PDS
OF STGR LIFT. MDLS SEEM TO BE MOVG THE MIDLVL ENERGY TOO QUICKLY
NEWD CONSIDERG THE WEAK FLOW IN THE MID/UPR LVLS. (SEE PMDHMD).
MSTR THRU THE REGION REMAINS WELL ABV SEASONAL NRMLS WITH STDS
ARND PLUS TWO AND ACTUAL PWS AOA TWO INCHES. LATEST SOUNDGS AND
MDL FCST SOUNDGS CONT TO SHOW SKINNY CAPES...WEAK FLOW AND DEEP
(4-4.5KM WRM LYRS) THAT WL SUPPORT VRY EFFICIENT RNFL PRODUCTION.
MONKEY WRENCH FOR THIS PD COULD BE EVOLUTION OF MCS TNGT OVR THE
CNTRL HI PLNS THAT SHLD DIVE SEWD INTO THE SRN HI PLNS AND PSBLY
GET PULLED EWD WED MRNG ACRS NRN TX. THIS COULD SGNFCNTLY DISRUPT
THE PTRN/SITU OVR THE REGION AND KEEP THE FOCUS OVR NRN TX/SRN OK
FOR ADDTNL HVY RNFL. ALSO...FNTL BNDRY SAGG SWD THRU THE PLNS WL
TEND TO FOCUS LOLVL MSTR THAT WL SLOLY LIFT NEWD THRU THE
PD...WHICH COULD RESULT IN AN ELONGATED ZONE OF HVIER RNFL FM SRN
KS INTO MO. MANY UNKNOWNS...XCPT THAT WHERE IT RNS...ITS GOING TO
RN VRY HARD WITH RNFL RATES OF TWO INCHES PER HR LKLY. SITU SEEMS
TO BE SLOLY TRANSITIONG TWD SOMEWHAT OF A WEAKENG TRPCL SYS WITH
THE CNVCTN FOCUSED NR THE MIDLVL CENTER LATE AT NGT/ERLY MRNG AND
ARND THE PERIPHERY DURG THE AFTN ASSOCD WITH STGR INSTLBTY. LCLZD
5 INCH TOTALS ARE PSBL BY WED EVE.
ECKERT
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cnn.com
VENICE, Florida (AP) -- A man who lost his ball in a golf course pond nearly lost a limb when a nearly 11-foot alligator latched on to his arm and pulled him in the water, authorities said.
Bruce Burger, 50, was trying to retrieve his ball Monday from a pond on the sixth hole at the Lake Venice Golf Club.
The alligator latched on to Burger's right forearm and pulled him in the pond, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Burger used his left arm to beat the reptile until it freed him.
"I saw him reach down to get his ball and he yelled" for help, said Janet Pallo, who was playing the fifth hole and ran over to drive the man to the clubhouse.
Burger, from Lenoir City, Tennessee, was taken to a hospital but was not seriously injured, Morse said Tuesday.
It took seven Fish and Wildlife officers an hour to trap the one-eyed alligator, which measured 10 feet, 11 inches, Morse said.
The pond at the sixth hole has a "Beware of Alligator" sign.
"Unfortunately, that's part of Florida," course general manager Rod Parry said. "There's wildlife in these ponds."
QUANTITATIVE PRECIPITATION FORECAST DISCUSSION
NWS HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER CAMP SPRINGS MD
553 PM EDT TUE JUN 26 2007
FINAL DAY 1...DAY 2 AND DAY 3 QPF DISCUSSION
VALID JUN 27/0000 UTC THRU JUN 30/0000 UTC
REFERENCE AWIPS GRAPHICS UNDER...PRECIP ACCUM - 24HR
THE 18Z MDL RUNS WERE IN VRY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE 12Z RUNS..SO
MADE ONLY VRY MINOR CHGS TO THE PRELIM DAY 1 QPF.
DAY 1...
...SYNOPSIS...
GNRLY STAGNANT/MID SUMMER PTRN HAS TAKEN HOLD ACRS MUCH OF THE
CONUS WITH THE MAIN BAND OF WRLYS THRU THE NWRN U.S....THEN ACRS
THE NRN TIER STS INTO NEW ENG. BROAD MID/UPR RDGG OVR THE SRN U.S.
WL REMAIN INTACT...WITH SVRL IMBEDDED SHRTWVS/VORTS THAT WL
PROVIDE LRG SCALE LIFT AND ASSOCD RNFL. MAIN FOCUS FOR HVY RNFL WL
AGN BE OVR THE CNTRL/SRN PLNS. MDLS ARE GNRLY ON THE SAME PAGE AND
FOLLOWED THE SLOWER SOLUS DUE TO THE WEAK FLOW.
...CNTRL/SRN PLNS INTO TX...
MID/UPR LVL CIRCULATION CENTER OVR WRN OK THIS AFTN IS FCST TO
SLOLY ELONGATE WITH SOME ENERGY GETTG PULLED NEWD INTO THE MID MS
VLY...BUT AT THE SAME TIME ADDTNL ENERGY COULD DROP SEWD FM THE
CNTRL HI PLNS AND KEEP THE MEAN CIRCULATION CENTER SOMEWHERE OVR
THE SRN PLNS. TENDED TO LEAN TWD THE SLOWER SOLUS FOR THIS PD.
SREF/GEFS/CAN/ECWMF ALL SUPPORT THE SLOER SOLUS. MSTR FEEDG INTO
THE REGION FM THE GULF OF MEX REMAINS WELL ABV SEASONAL NRMLS WITH
PWS ARND TWO STDS ABV NRML. ACTUAL PWS ARE AOA TWO INCHES WITH MID
TEEN 8H DWPTS THRU THE REGION. MDLS SHOW A NOCTURNAL INCRS IN THE
LLJ THRU TX INTO THE SRN PLNS THAT SHLD AID WITH MSTR TRNSPRT AND
PSBL NOCTURNAL FLAREUP OF CNVCTN NR THE MIDLVL CIRCULATION CENTER.
SYS HAS BEGUN TO TAKE ON CHARACTERISTICS OF A WEAKENG TRPCL SYS
WITH THE NGT TIME CNVCTN NR THE CENTER AND DAYTIME OVR THE
PERIPHERY WHERE INSTBLTY IS HIER. MDL SOUNDGS INDICATE VRY SLOW
MOVMENT THRU THE PD...WITH A GRNLY NWD DRIFT. SOUNDGS ALSO SHOW
SKINNY CAPES AND VRY DEEP WRM LYRS THAT WL SUPPORT VRY EFFICIENT
RNFL RATES. WEAK LOLVL BNDRYS FM PRVS DAYS CNVCTN WL HELP FOCUS
LIFT...BUT FCSTG THESE FEATRS IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. XPCT A BROAD
REGION OF HVY RNFL WITH LCLZD 5 INCH TOTALS BY WED EVE FM SCNTRL
KS THRU CNTRL OK INTO NRN TX.
...CNTRL/SRN HI PLNS...
SHRTWV ENERGY WL TOP THE SWRN U.S. RDG AND PROVIDE LRG SCALE LIFT
FOR MCS ACTVTY TNGT. THE SFC BNDRY HAS PUSHED INTO THE REGION WITH
MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW UNDERWAY...ALNG WITH STG HEATG OVR THE HIER
TERRAIN. XPCT CNVCTN OVR THE MTNS TO CONGEAL INTO A COMPLEX THAT
MDLS SHOW ACCELG SEWD TNGT INTO THE LOLVL MOIST RETURN FLOW.
PROPAGATION VECTORS INDICATE SEWD MOVEMENT OF 20-30 KTS. THIS SHLD
GNRLY REDUCE THE THREAT FOR VRY HVY RNFL...BUT ALSO INCRS THE
THREAT FOR A BROADER REGION OF MOD/HVY RNFL...SO HAVE PULLED PCPN
FARTHER SEWD INTO NRN TX BY WED MRNG. A STRIPE OF 1-2 INCH AMTS
ARE PSBL.
DAYS 2/3...
..SOUTHERN/CENTRAL PLAINS TO OH VALLEY/MID ATLANTIC AND
NORTHEAST...
A PERSISTENT WEAKNESS IN THE UPPER FLOW PATTERN WILL REMAIN OVER
THE REGION THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD. BETWEEN THE WEAK UPPER LEVEL
WEAKNESS...PERSISTENT ONSHORE FLOW...AND A QUASI-STNRY
BNDRY...EXPECT INCREASING COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF PCPN FROM
TX/OK/KS AND THEN CURVE INTO THE MS VALLEY AROUND THE NORTH SIDE
OF A BROAD ANTICYCLONE. A COLD FRONT PUSHING THROUGH THE NORTHERN
TIER OF STATES WILL BECOME ALIGNED EAST TO WEST FROM THE MS VALLEY
TO THE MID ATLANTIC STATES AS LOW PRESSURE SCOOTS EAST ACROSS
SOUTHERN CANADA. THIS FRONT WILL HELP FOCUS THE NORTHERN EDGE OF
THE PRECIPITATION...ESPECIALLY AS COOLER AND DRIER AIR BUILDS IN
FROM THE CANADIAN PLAINS. SOUTH OF THE FRONT...PRECIPITABLE WATER
VALUES IN EXCESS OF 1.75 INCHES AND VERY LIGHT MID AND UPPER LEVEL
WINDS SHOULD RESULT IN SLOW MOVING STORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN. AS MENTIONED IN QPF DAY 1
DISCUSSION...TRENDS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MORNINGS SUGGEST THAT
CONVECTION MAY BE MOST ACTIVE AT NIGHT NEAR THE UPPER LEVEL
FEATURE OVER THE SRN PLAINS...AND MOST ACTIVE AWAY FROM THE
FEATURE WHEN THE AIRMASS IS MOST UNSTABLE DUE TO SFC HEATING. WE
TENDED TO FAVOR THE SLIGHTLY FURTHER NORTH POSITION OF THE NAM ON
DAY 2 WHILE LEANING TOWARDS THE GFS FORECAST PCPN AFTER ACCOUNTING
FOR QPF BULLSEYES. AS THE MOISTURE SPREADS EAST..WE TENDED TO
SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE IN AMOUNTS. OF SOME CONCERN IS THE LIGHT
AMOUNTS FROM THE ECMWF. STILL...GIVEN RECENT HISTORY WITH SIMILAR
UPPER FEATURES IT WAS DECIDED TO FOLLOW THE WETTER NCEP MODELS.
Evening everyone.
53,000 feet cloud top..Whats the highest you have seen?
Its a lovely evening here, but the damm dust is prevalent.......
Have a great night Everyone!!!
That radar image that Dr.Masters posted was that accessible to the media in 1957 or on tv? Did any news or radio station in Louisana break in the night that the storm was going to hit?
Well , I never thought I would be here end-of-Junish, and see things so quiet.
We could talk about , er, oh yeah, Global warming, Tunnels and stuff.
Or maybe I should hush, and go to bed like a bad boy......
Since it was a remote town did they even have a tv or radio station within a radius for people to hear or see?
J.C. was born outside of Gueydan but has lived most of his life in Cameron Parish. In 1948, he starred in Robert Flaherty’s film Louisiana Story, which was nominated for an Academy Award. He later met Regina, a young woman from Creole, at a dance, and they married in 1952. Five years later, the couple was living in Cameron with three children. “Hurricane Audrey came and uprooted us,” J.C. says. “We lost everything we had then.” Regina also lost five members of her family.
When Audrey came ashore on June 27, 1957, J.C. was working on a crew boat for an oil company. He learned about the approaching storm from his employer. “Back then,” J.C. says, “We didn’t have the weather communications like we’ve got now.” J.C. and Regina evacuated to Lake Charles with their children. When they returned, their home had vanished. They weren’t able to buy a new home for another five years, when J.C. took a job with Cameron Telephone where he worked for 30 years.
It’s easy for the older Cameron Parish residents to draw comparisons between Audrey and Rita. Both storms wrecked their lives, and both made landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border. But data from the National Weather Service points out some differences. While Audrey hit land with sustained winds of 145 miles per hour, Rita’s sustained winds were 120 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 150 miles per hour. During Audrey, Cameron experienced a 12-foot storm surge, but Rita hit the city with a surge of 15 to 20 feet. But the major difference was the evacuation for the storms. Most residents heeded the mandatory evacuation during Rita, resulting in less than 10 deaths, but few evacuated for Audrey, and more than 500 people, mostly in Cameron, drowned in the storm surge.
J.C. thinks there was more property damage with Rita than Audrey. Homes that withstood the wrath of Audrey weren’t able to withstand the brute force of Rita. Regina has a hard time even comparing the two storms. “Everybody says Rita was worse,” she says, “but to me, everybody lost everything for Audrey. We lost our home, and everybody else lost their home.”
Nearly 50 years later, the couple finds themselves homeless — again.
And for the second time, their house was nowhere to be found. “Out there where we were,” Regina says, “everything was just gone.”
“The worst weather was coming from the southeast,” J.C. says. “All that stuff went to the northwest. It’s out in the marsh and along the Intracoastal Canal. That’s where the debris is.” Living in Cameron is also part of living with the threat of hurricanes. You can take every precaution and follow every code for building your home, but that’s still no guarantee. Houses next to the Boudreauxs, built 14 feet in the air on pylons, still suffered the same fate as their home. “You can’t go against Mother Nature,” Regina says. “If she’s going to take it, she’s going to take it, regardless of how it’s built.”
Waiting on the BOM update and there thoughts on the situation.Adrian
The lack of Tropical weather activity is directly proportional to the increase of disquiet and angst on this site.
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