Tropical Storm — Orange, Texas

1998-09-09 to 1998-09-11 · Orange, Texas

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Frances was the third tropical system to impact southeast Texas in 3 weeks, and caused the worst damage. Wind gusts in excess of 50 mph occurred along the coast on September 11th, but most of the damage occurred from the high tides. At Sabine Pass, the tide reading reached 5.3 ft MSL, which was one of the highest tides in the last 30 years. On top of the high tides, heavy rain lasting several days dropped 8 to 10 inches of rain across the region.At Sea Rim State Park, water got to the top of the dunes, which is 8 to 9 feet higher than normal.Offshore oil workers evacuated before 70 to 80 mph wind gusts impacted the rigs offshore. Many of these evacuees landed in Sabine Pass, Texas, and were caught in town due to the high tides. Sabine Pass was totally isolated from road traffic for three days due to high water. Nearly every home and business in Sabine Pass had salt water enter them (over 70 places). Highway 87 between Sabine Pass and Port Arthur was closed early in the morning on September 10th, and was not reopened until September 15th. As much as 3 feet of water covered sections of Highway 87 across Jefferson County.The millions of dollars worth of damages in Jefferson County was primarily a result of road damages. Highway 87 between Sabine Pass and Port Arthur received major damage, as did Highway 87 between Port Arthur and Bridge City, around the Rainbow Bridge. Pleasure Island received significant damage to the levee from the high tides and heavy wave action.In Orange County, the worst hit areas included Bridge City and Vidor. Several roads were closed from September 11th through the 13th. Over 4,000 sandbags were passed out so homeowners could protect their places from the high water.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5667807. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.