Last Cat 3 hurricane to hit Galveston was 37 years ago
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Hurricane Laura is projected to be a Category 3 storm when it hits somewhere on the upper Texas or Louisiana coast.
The last Category 3 hurricane to hit Galveston was Alicia on August 18, 1983.
However, it's important to note that Hurricane Ike's wind speed was just 1 mph short of Category 3.
Hurricane Alicia, with winds of 115 mph, pummeled the Gulf Coast as it made landfall onto Texas soil on August 18, 1983.
Alicia made 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
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.
It was Sept. 13, 2008, when Hurricane Ike ripped through the Galveston-Houston area, claiming the lives of dozens in Texas.
The powerful Category 2 storm, ravaged the Gulf Coast after making landfall that day around 2 a.m., flattening homes and obliterating entire towns and creating a huge storm surge that destroyed buildings and businesses along Galveston's Seawall.
It's one of the deadliest and most expensive storms, costing an estimated $34.8 billion.
