Hurricane Carla
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- This article is about the 1961 hurricane; there was also a Tropical Storm Carla during the 1956 Atlantic hurricane season.
 Hurricane Carla as seen by radar in Galveston, Texas |
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| Duration | Sept. 3 - 16, 1961 |
| Highest winds | 175 mph (280 km/h) sustained |
| Damages | $2.4 billion (2004 dollars) |
| Fatalities | 43 direct |
| Areas affected | Yucatan Peninsula, Texas, parts of the Central United States |
| Part of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Carla, a Category 5 at peak intensity, was one of the most powerful storms to ever strike the United States. Carla struck the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane during the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm remains the strongest to strike the Texas coastline.
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Formation
A tropical depression developed in the western Caribbean Sea on September 3 from a disturbance in the Intertropical Convergence Zone. It moved northwestward, becoming a tropical storm on the 5th and a hurricane on the 6th. After skimming the Yucatan Peninsula as a weak hurricane, Carla entered the Gulf of Mexico and headed for the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Landfall
As it moved slowly across the Gulf of Mexico, Carla steadily strengthened to its peak of 170 mph on the 11th. It weakened, but Carla was still a very strong Category 4 and unusually large hurricane at its Port O'Connor, Texas landfall on September 11. Storm surge was measured at 22 feet (6.7 m) near the heads of bays, in some places penetrating 10 miles inland. Because of its large size, the entire Texas coast was affected, and damage was reported as far inland as Dallas. Pressure at landfall was measured at 931 mb, making it the 7th most intense hurricane to strike the United States in the 20th century.
Much of the damage was done well away from the landfall site, as Carla spawned one of the largest hurricane-related tornado outbreaks on record. One F4 tornado ripped through downtown Galveston, killing several (sources differ on the exact number, varying from 6 to 12). Outside the protection of the Galveston Seawall, structures on the island were severely damaged by storm surge. Damage was reported as far east as the Mississippi River delta.
As Carla weakened, it dropped heavy rain in the Midwest.
Carla killed 43 people, 31 of them in Texas. The low death toll is credited to what was then the largest peacetime evacuation in US history. One half million residents headed inland from exposed coastal areas.
The storm also marked the first live television broadcast of a hurricane. Then little-known newsman Dan Rather reported live from the Galveston Seawall during the storm, an act that would be imitated by later reporters.
The name Carla was retired following this storm, and was replaced by Carol in 1965.
| Top ten most intense Atlantic hurricanes since measurements began Hurricane intensity is measured solely by central pressure; source: NOAA |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Atlantic | Landfall U.S. | ||||||
| Rank | Hurricane | Year | Minimum pressure recorded mbar (hPa) |
Rank | Hurricane | Year | Minimum pressure at landfall mbar (hPa) |
| 1 | Wilma | 2005 | 882 | 1 | Labor Day | 1935 | 892 |
| 2 | Gilbert | 1988 | 888 | 2 | Camille | 1969 | 909 |
| 3 | Labor Day | 1935 | 892 | 3 | Katrina | 2005 | 918 |
| 4 | Rita | 2005 | 897 | 4 | Andrew | 1992 | 922 |
| 5 | Allen | 1980 | 899 | 5 | Indianola | 1886 | 925 |
| 6 | Katrina | 2005 | 902 | 6 | Florida Keys | 1919 | 927 |
| 7 | Camille | 1969 | 905 | 7 | Okeechobee | 1928 | 929 |
| 8 | Mitch | 1998 | 905 | 8 | Donna | 1960 | 930 |
| 9 | Ivan | 2004 | 910 | 9 | New Orleans | 1915 | 931 |
| 10 | Janet | 1955 | 914 | 10 | Carla | 1961 | 931 |
| Based on data from: The Weather Channel | Based on data from: U.S. National Hurricane Center | ||||||
