Hurricane (Typhoon) — Harrison, Mississippi

2008-09-01 to 2008-09-02 · Harrison, Mississippi

Event narrative

Hurricane force wind gusts knocked down numerous tree limbs and a number of trees and utility poles around the county. Nearly 700 hundred structures were affected by the storm with 16 being destroyed and 7 receiving major damage.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Gustav emerged into the southeast Gulf of Mexico as a major category 3 hurricane on August 31st after developing in the Caribbean Sea and moving across western Cuba. Gustav tracked northwestward across the Gulf toward Louisiana and made landfall as a category 2 hurricane near Cocodrie Louisiana during the morning of September 1st. Gustav continued to move northwest and weakened to a category 1 storm over south central Louisiana later that day. The storm diminished to a tropical depression over northwestern Louisiana on September 2nd.

The highest wind gust recorded in south Mississippi was 74 mph at the Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport while the highest sustained wind of 54 mph was recorded at the Waveland Yacht Club. No official wind observations were available in far southwest Mississippi, however wind gusts to hurricane force may have occurred. The minimum sea level pressure measured in south Mississippi was 998 millibars at the McComb-Pike County Airport. Rainfall varied considerably ranging from around 4 to 10 inches.

Gustav produced mainly light wind damage across coastal Mississippi, although more significant and concentrated damage occurred in southwest Mississippi closer to the track of center of the storm. Widespread power outages occurred in southwest Mississippi, especially in Wilkinson County. Approximately 640 homes and mobiles homes in Wilkinson County were damaged by wind and falling trees and tree limbs.

Storm surge ranged from of 4.5 to 6 feet in Jackson County to 8 to 11 feet in Hancock County. The maximum storm tide on the Mississippi coast was recorded at the NOAA tide gage at Bay St Louis with a reading of 10.92 ft above MLLW. Around 50 homes were flooded in Hancock County along with minor to moderate coastal flooding and beach erosion. The worst coastal flooding from the storm surge was in Hancock County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 135934. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.