Tropical Storm — Ascension, Louisiana

2005-09-23 to 2005-09-24 · Ascension, Louisiana

Wider weather episode

A tropical depression moving west through the Turks and Caicos Islands developed into Tropical Storm Rita on the afternoon of September 18th. Rita moved west through the central Bahamas on the 19th and strengthened into a category 2 hurricane on the 20th while moving across the Florida Straits. After entering the Gulf of Mexico on the 21st, Rita rapidly intensified as it moved west northwest. Rita strengthened to a category 5 storm on the afternoon of the 21st and reached its peak intensity the next day 570 miles east southeast of Galveston, Texas with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and a minimum central pressure of 897 mb. Rita turned northwest and weakened to a category 3 hurricane on the 23rd and made landfall around 230 AM CDT on September 24th just east of the Texas and Louisiana border between Sabine Pass and Johnson's Bayou as a category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.A tropical depression moving west through the Turks and Caicos Islands developed into Tropical Storm Rita on the afternoon of September 18th. Rita moved west through the central Bahamas on the 19th and strengthened into a category 2 hurricane on the 20th while moving across the Florida Straits. After entering the Gulf of Mexico on the 21st, Rita rapidly intensified as it moved west northwest. Rita strengthened to a category 5 storm on the afternoon of the 21st and reached its peak intensity the next day 570 miles east southeast of Galveston, Texas with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and a minimum central pressure of 897 mb. Rita turned northwest and weakened to a category 3 hurricane on the 23rd and made landfall around 230 AM CDT on September 24th just east of the Texas and Louisiana border between Sabine Pass and Johnson's Bayou as a category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.Across southeast Louisiana, the main affect from Hurricane Rita was the substantial storm surge flooding that occurred in low lying communities across coastal areas of southern Terrebonne, southern Lafourche, and southern Jefferson Parishes where numerous homes and businesses were flooded. Some of the most substantial damage occurred in southern Terrebonne Parish where storm surge of 5 to 7 feet above normal overtopped or breached local drainage levees inundating many small communities. Newspaper accounts indicated approximately 10,000 structures were flooded in Terrebonne Parish. Lafitte and other communities in lower Jefferson Parish also suffered extensive storm surge flooding. Storm surge flooding also occurred in areas adjacent to Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas with some homes and businesses flooded from Slidell to Mandeville and Madisonville. Approximately 1500 structures were reported flooded in Livingston Parish near Lake Maurepas. Repaired levees damaged by Hurricane Katrina in late August were overtopped or breached along the Industrial Canal in New Orleans resulting in renewed flooding in adjacent portions of New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, although the flooding was much more limited in areal coverage than during Hurricane Katrina. The highest tide gage readings measured during the storm was 7.34 feet NGVD at Barataria Bay north of Grand Isle at 11 PM CDT on September 23rd, and approximately 7.10 feet NGVD on Bayou Grand Cailliou at Dulac at 0500 CDT on September 24th. Locally higher storm surge values may have occurred in Terrebonne Parish.Although minimal sustained tropical storm force winds were observed across western sections of southeast Louisiana from the Baton Rouge area south to the coast, most of the tropical storm force winds were confined to occasional gusts in squalls associated with the storm. The maximum sustained wind recorded in southeast Louisiana was 42 mph (36 knots) at the Baton Rouge Airport at 1043 am CDT on September 24th. The maximum wind gust was also recorded at this station with 53 mph (46 knots) occurring at 1006 pm CDT on the 23rd and 948 am CDT on the 24th.Rainfall amounts were the heaviest across western areas of southeast Louisiana between the Atchafalaya River and Lake Maurepas where totals generally ranged from 6 to 12 inches. Rainfall amounts farther east ranged from 1 to 4 inches. The lowest barometric pressure measured across southeast Louisiana was 997.6 mb at 1158 pm CDT on the 23rd at the Baton Rouge Airport station.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5478896. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.