Hurricane (Typhoon) — Orleans, Louisiana

1998-09-27 to 1998-09-28 · Orleans, Louisiana

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Georges, a strong Category 2, hurricane moved slowly northwest across the Gulf of Mexico toward southeast Louisiana on the September 26. As the hurricane approached the mouth of the Mississippi River on September 27 it slowly turned toward the north making landfall along the Mississippi Coast east of Biloxi, MS around 0400 CST on September 28. The Louisiana coast remained on the relatively weaker west side of the Hurricane Georges' circulation.Most of southeast Louisiana experienced sustained wind of 40 to 45 mph and gusts to 55 to 65 mph, with the strongest winds reported in lower Plaquemines and far east St. Bernard Parishes. Most of the wind damage was confined to trees, power lines, house roofs, and a few mobile homes. At the height of the hurricane, 160,000 homes and businesses were without electrical power in southeast Louisiana. Storm surge flooding of 4 to 8 feet was confined to areas outside of the hurricane protection system. Along the Mississippi River, the hurricane storm surge created a 6 to 7 ft rise in the river in Plaquemines Parish and a 5 to 6 ft rise in the river in the New Orleans area late on September 27. Rainfall during the hurricane event was minimal, less than 2 inches, as the area was situated on the drier western semicircle of the hurricane's circulation. In Louisiana, insured losses from Hurricane George was estimated at $15 million according to insurance industry sources. When non-insured and public losses are considered, total damages in the state likely totaled near $30 million. Large scale evacuations took place on September 25 and September 26 across southeast Louisiana. Based on post hurricane evacuation surveys in Orleans and Jefferson Parish, approximately 500,000 were estimated to have left southeast Louisiana prior to the hurricane. Approximately 31,000 people sought refuge in public shelters throughout Louisiana. Several indirect fatalities occurred when two elderly persons died in the hurricane evacuation enroute to a special needs shelter in Baton Rouge.Information on parishes experiencing the most damage are listed below:Jefferson Parish: Affects in the parish were mostly confined to minor wind damage to trees and house roofs, and loss of electrical power due to downed power lines. A maximum wind gust of 55 mph was recorded at New Orleans International Airport at 0411CST on September 28 before power was lost to the wind instrument. Storm surge flooding occurred outside of the hurricane protection levees along Lake Pontchartrain, causing flooding of undeveloped areas. Approximately 3900 people sought refuge in public shelters in the parish.Orleans Parish: The main affect to Orleans Parish was storm surge flooding outside of the hurricane protection levees, and wind damage to trees and resultant downing of power lines. A storm surge of 4 to 5 feet occurred in far east Orleans Parish causing water flooding of roadways and some damage to fishing camps and houses in the Lake Catherine, Irish Bayou, and Venetian Isles areas. A maximum stage of 5.81 ft was recorded at the Rigolets. Along the southwest shore of Lake Pontchartrain, about 85 out of 110 fishing camps built on wooden pilings were destroyed by storm surge and wind driven waves. Some of the camps were more than 75 years old. In the vicinity of West End Park, several restaurants were heavily damaged by storm surge and wind driven waves. A tide gage at West End Marina recorded a stage of 5.8 ft while the gage on the Industrial Canal reached 7.3 ft.Wind damage occurred to trees and power lines, and also to some house roofs. A wind gust of 55 kt was recorded at New Orleans Lakefront Airport at 411CST on September 28 before power failed. On Lake Pontchartrain, automated wind sensors on the middle of Lake Pontchartrain Causeway recorded a gust of 68 mph at 720CST on September 28. At the height of the strong winds late on the September 27 and September 28, over 80,000 houses and businesses were without electrical powers.Approximately 20,000 people sought refuge in public shelters, with 14,000 of those sheltered in the Louisiana Superdome. One in-direct fatality occurred on September 27 when a house fire killed a 40 year old man. The fire was ignited when a candle being used for emergency lighting was knocked over. Plaquemine Parish: The lower portion of Plaquemine Parish received the greatest impact from Hurricane George with hurricane force wind gusts experienced late on September 27. An automated NOAA weather station at the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River recorded a maximum wind gust of 82 mph at 1653CST on September 27. A storm surge of 7 to 8 feet was experienced along the east bank areas of the parish. A USGS tide gage in Gardene Bay east of Point a la Hache recorded a stage of 8.9 ft before power failed. Considerable storm surge flooding was recorded outside of the hurricane protection levees. About 50 homes and businesses outside of the levee system in the vicinity of Venice were reported to have flooded. Some wind damage to roofs, signs, and mobile homes also occurred within the levee protection system of southern Plaquemine Parish. Power outages were widespread throughout the parish from the afternoon of September 27 through September 28. Approximately 15,000 people in the southern portion of the parish evacuated with approximately 2300 people housed in public shelters in the northern portion of the parish.St. Bernard Parish: The greatest impact from Hurricane Georges was experienced outside of the hurricane protection levee system. A 5 to 7 ft storm surge affected the parish with extensive flooding of low lying structures and roadways. Tide gages at Bayou Bienvenu and Bayou Dupre reached stages of 7.4 ft and 6.4 ft, respectively. Approximately 65 single family houses and mobile homes were damaged by flooding and wind. Severe erosion was reported in the coastal marshes, and especially in the nearby barrier islands of the Chandeleur Islands. Power outages were widespread throughout the parish on September 27 and 28. Approximately 1300 people sought refuge in public shelters in the upper portion of St Bernard Parish.St. Tammany Parish: The main affects to St Tammany parish was wind damage to trees, minor roof damage, and power failure due to downed power lines. A maximum wind gust at the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway approach at Mandeville was 48 mph at 0240CST on September 28. A 48 mph wind gust was also recorded at the Slidell Airport at 2229 CST on September 27 before power was lost to the instrument. A storm surge of about 3 feet occurred on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. The tide gage at Mandeville recorded a maximum stage of 4.3 ft. Some low lying areas adjacent to Lake Pontchartrain were flooded by the storm surge with 20 homes in the Palm Lake area of Slidell flooded. During the storm clean-up, a 71 year old man was severely injured when a falling tree struck him while he was clearing debris from his property.Across other areas of southeast Louisiana, damage was relatively minor and mostly confined to downed tree limbs and scattered reports of power outage due to downed power lines.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5670180. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.