Tropical Storm — Lower St. Martin, Louisiana

2020-08-26 to 2020-08-27 · Lower St. Martin, Louisiana

Event narrative

Scattered trees and power lines were blown down across the parish. Homes and businesses were damaged from fallen trees or wind. There was some minor flooding from the vermilion river. Over 40 percent of the parish was without power immediately after the storm. Wind gusts ranged from 40 to 50 mph.

Wider weather episode

A tropical wave emerged off of Africa during August 16 and then developed into a depression by the 20th. The system gradually became better organized as it passed across the Greater Antilles. It entered the Gulf of Mexico and became a hurricane on the 25th. Outer bands spread inland during the afternoon of the 26th and it made landfall at Cameron at 1AM local time on the 27th as the first category 4 hurricane to landfall in Southwest Louisiana and the strongest Louisiana hurricane since 1856. The highest storm surge to ever be recorded also occurred from Laura which was approximately 21 feet at Rutherford Beach and Creole. Damages totaled roughly $10.7 Billion and 27 fatalities occurred.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 918088. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.