High Surf — Nueces, Texas

2008-09-12 to 2008-09-14 · Nueces, Texas

Event narrative

Hurricane Ike made landfall early in the morning on September 13th near Galveston Texas. Across South Texas, Ike produced a storm surge of 2 to 4 feet across barrier islands and inland bays and waterways, and a storm tide of 3 to 6 feet. In addition, the combination of high surf and storm tide resulted in minor beach erosion of 30 to 50 feet along portions of Mustang and Padre Islands. The high surf also resulted in one fatality at Packery Channel.

A 19 year old died after a wave swept him off the Packery Channel jetty as he was walking along it. A friend and two witnesses attempted to rescue the teen, and were also knocked off the jetty by a wave. All three of these individuals were rescued, with one experiencing critical head injuries. Another one of the rescued received non-life threatening injuries.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Ike made landfall early during the morning on September 13th near Galveston Texas. Across South Texas, Ike produced a storm surge of 2 to 4 feet across barrier islands and inland bays and waterways, and a storm tide of 3 to 6 feet. The elevated water levels produced flooding of low lying areas in Magnolia Beach, Indianola, Port O'Connor, Rockport, Port Aransas, Ingleside By The Bay, Aransas Pass, Corpus Christi, Mustang Island and Padre Island. The combination of high surf and storm tide resulted in minor beach erosion of 30 to 50 feet along portions of Mustang and Padre Islands.

The high surf also resulted in one fatality at Packery Channel. A 19 year old died after a wave swept him off the Packery Channel jetty as he was walking along it. A friend and two witnesses attempted to rescue the teen, and were also knocked off the jetty by a wave. All three of these individuals were rescued, with one experiencing critical head injuries. Another one of the rescued received non-life threatening injuries.

In Calhoun County, a NWS storm survey observed Ocean Drive North flooded in Magnolia Beach. Several low lying spots along Highway 316 were flooded between Magnolia Beach, Powderhorn Lake, and Indianola. Extensive flooding of Highway 316 in Indianola was observed, with homes completely cutt off along the last 1/4 to 1/2 mile of Highway 316. In Port O'Connor, several streets were flooded beteen the barge canal and Maple Street, as well as between the barge canal and Stella Street. A few businesses were flooded in this area in Port O'Connor.

In Aransas County, a NWS storm survey observed flooded streets around the Fulton Harbor and Rockport Harbor, including Broadway St. and South Water St. A vessel in the Rockport Harbor took on water and sank.

In San Patricio County, a few low lying roads and homes flooded in and near Ingleside By The Bay.

In Nueces County, flooding was observed in North Beach, with water over several roads and in some businesses. The T-Heads in downtown Corpus Christi were also flooded. In Port Aransas, several streets were flooded, including Highway 361 southwest and north of Port Aransas. At the Packery Channel, a section near the north side of the boat ramp and pieces of the jetty were damaged and moved. Padre Balli Park experienced damage in addition to the Bob Hall Pier. All beach access roads were flooded and cut off on Mustang and Padre Islands.

In Kleberg County, minor erosion of the dunes was observed on Padre Island.

Finally, for weeks after Hurricane Ike, storm debris from the Upper Texas and Louisiana coastlines was observed washing up along the Middle Texas Coastal barrier island beaches. In Nueces County alone, around 1000 tons of this debris was removed from the beaches.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 125597. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.