Hurricane Harvey Makes Landfall as Cat 4

Update – Landfall as Cat 4 near Rockport, Texas

Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas with winds of 130 mph at 10 pm CDT on Friday, as the first Category 4 hurricane to landfall in the U.S. since Charley in August 2004.

It weakened on Saturday to Category 1 status, but is expected to stall over Texas, leading to a threat of catastrophic flooding. The threat is expected to last into next week.

EigenAlert subscribers will continue to receive automated notifications, specific to their custom settings, as the storm progresses. The EigenPrism real time event catalog contains forecast wind swaths, observed and forecasted wind footprints and storm surge flooding potential footprints to help users assess and analyze Hurricane Harvey’s impact on their exposures.

NHC – Hurricane and Storm Surge Warnings Issued

A hurricane warning has been issued for a portion of the Texas coast, from north of Port Mansfield to Matagorda, including the city of Corpus Christi.

A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are likely within the watch area. They are typically issued within 36 hours of the expected onset of hurricane-force winds. Importantly, tropical storm-force winds may begin to affect the hurricane-warned area above as soon as Friday afternoon, making final preparations difficult.

The NHC has also issued its first ever public storm surge warning, which includes a swath of the Texas coast from Port Mansfield to San Luis Pass Island.

This means a life-threatening storm surge is expected in the warned area in the next 36 hours. This warning does not include Galveston Bay.

Cat 3 Hurricane

According to weathercom, this would be the nation’s first Category 3 or stronger hurricane landfall since Hurricane Wilma struck South Florida in October 2005, an almost 12-year run.

Harvey may also be the strongest landfall in this area known as the Texas Coastal Bend since the infamous Category 3 Hurricane Celia hammered the Corpus Christi area in August 1970 with wind gusts up to 161 mph, damaging almost 90 percent of the city’s businesses and 70 percent of its residences and destroying two hangars at the city’s airport.