Marine Hurricane/Typhoon — Breton Sound, Gulf of Mexico

2017-10-07 to 2017-10-08 · Breton Sound, Gulf of Mexico

Event narrative

Tropical storm force winds occurred over Breton Sound as Nate moved through the area. A wind gust of 42 mph was recorded on a USGS weather/tide station in Northeast Bay Gardene.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Nate began as a tropical depression over the northwest Caribbean Sea on the morning of October 4th and moved fairly rapidly northward, with forward speeds in excess of 20 mph, for the next several days while gaining strength. The storm moved north-northwestward through much of the day on the 7th and moved across the coastal marine areas as a minimal hurricane from the afternoon of Oct 7th into the early morning hours of Oct 8th. As the hurricane approached southeast Louisiana and coastal Mississippi, it became asymmetrical with much of shower and thunderstorm activity along with the stronger winds primarily on the east side of the system.

Two landfalls occurred in the CWA. The first was near the mouth of the Mississippi River at 7 pm CDT as a Category 1 hurricane. The second landfall was near Biloxi, Mississippi at 1230 am CDT October 8th, also as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm continued moving rapidly to the north and north-northeast, and had weakened to a tropical depression near Birmingham, Alabama by 10 am CDT on the 8th.

The lowest measured barometric pressure was 984.4 mb at a Weatherflow station near Biloxi. Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi recorded a maximum sustained wind of 46 kt (53 mph) and a 61 knot (70 mph) gust at 2253CST on Aug 7. A shipyard at Pascagoula Mississippi recorded a wind gust 71 kts (82 mph) on an anemometer with height of 19 meters.

In Louisiana, the lowest pressure was recorded at the Southwest Pass NOAA CMAN station (BURL1) with a reading of 989.5mb. Maximum winds were recorded at the Pilot Station automated weather station (PSTL1) with a maximum sustained wind of 46 kt (53 mph) gusting to 57 Kts (66 mph) at 1554CST on Aug 7. Anemometer height of 20.3 meters.

Over the coastal waters along and east of the Mississippi River, tropical storm force winds occurred with occasional hurricane force winds. The maximum wind observed in the coastal waters was at an AWOS station at Main Pass Block 140B (KMIS) with a sustained wind of 62 kt and a gust to 77 knots. Anemometer height 85 meters.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 725108. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.