hurricane

Hurricane Alicia slammed Texas 39 years ago this week

Thursday, August 18, 2022
Watch the incredible damage that was done by Hurricane Alicia in 1983.
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- With winds of 115 mph, Hurricane Alicia pummeled the Gulf Coast as it made landfall onto Texas soil on August 18, 1983.

Alicia was a Category 3 storm, making landfall on Galveston's west end near San Luis Pass. In addition to causing over $2 billion in damage, the storm killed 21 people.

PHOTOS: Hurricane Alicia in 1983
This aerial view of the Flagship Hotel shows the damage caused by Hurricane Alicia on Galveston Island, Texas, Aug. 19, 1983.none
Sail boats as they were piled up at the Houston Yacht Club Thursday, August 18, 1983 after Hurricane Alicia hit the Galveston, Texas Area.none
Sign, put up by the owner of property destroyed by Hurricane Alicia, Thursday, August 18, 1983 says it all.none
Sail boats as they were piled up at the Houston Yacht Club Thursday, August 18, 1983 after Hurricane Alicia hit the Galveston, Texas Area.none
A lone surfer walks the rocks of a jetty at Galveston, Texas looking for the big waves that are being produced by Hurricane Alicia as it churns the Gulf of Mexico off Galveston.none
Tree, parts of buildings and broken glass litter the streets of downtown Houston Thursday, August 18, 1983 after Hurricane Alicia's high winds raked the area after coming ashore.none
Boats, cranes and other debris line the highway leaving from Houston-Galveston Thursday, August 18, 1983 after Hurricane Alicia came ashore with 100 mile an hour winds.none
Brick wall of a motel came tumbling down as Hurricane Alicia’s winds and tornado knocked on parked cars at Webster, Texas on Thursday, August 18, 1983.none
Hurricane Alicia flipped and tore up this trailer park on Galveston Island, Texas on Thursday, August 18, 1983 as she moved ashore with its 115 mile an hour winds.none
Sailboat washed ashore with others stacked on another at the Bal Harbor of Nassau Bay, Texas on Thursday, August 18, 1983 as Hurricane Alicia came with 115 mile per hour winds.none
Galveston Bay over flows its banks into Seabrook, Texas early Thursday morning, August 19, 1983.none
Employees of the Spin-N-Mart food store taking inventory Saturday, August 20, 1983 to determine what Hurricane Alicia left behind after it took the roof off.none
Buck and Julia James search through what was once their trailer home in the east of Galveston Island, Friday, August 19, 1983.none
James Welch examines tugboats that were pitched from the San Jacinto River which flows into the Galveston Bay, Thursday, August 20, 1983.none
James Welch examines tugboats that were pitched from the San Jacinto River which flows into the Galveston Bay, Thursday, August 20, 1983.none
Mrs. Floss Wiseman picks through the wreckage of their home on Galveston's West Beach Saturday, August 20, 1983.none
Galveston Bay over flows its banks into Seabrook, Texas early Thursday morning, August 19, 1983.none


The hurricane began as a front in the central Gulf of Mexico on August 15, 1983, and quickly strengthened until landfall three days later.

The storm was small and compact, producing between 5-10 inches of rain, but it also spawned 23 tornadoes as it surged from the Gulf Coast to east Texas.

Four named storms formed during the 1983 hurricane season, proving that what matters most is where storms go, not how many form. Travis Herzog says it served as a tragic reminder that all it takes is one bad hurricane season for us, and that preparation is important.

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