Hurricane Camille August 17, 1969

When I arrive in N.O. back in April 1978, I was told the 3 major hurricanes EVERYONE remembered were the 1947 storm (unnamed), Hurricane Betsy (Sept. 1965) and Hurricane Camille (Aug. 1969).  Of course Katrina set the bar higher than any previous storm, however, it is important to remember the anniversary of Camille.  #1) It was one of a few storms that was strengthening at landfall. 2)  It had the lowest pressure (except for the storm of 1935) meaning it probably had the fastest wind speeds on record.  3)  Its storm surge of 24+ feet wiped out any structure within 1/2 mile of the beach,

Of course Hurricane Katrina's surge of 28+ feet topped Camille's, but Katrina was weakening at landfall and was barely a Cat. 3.   Can you imagine what if she were gaining strength?  The lessons learned from previous storms are basically 1) they will happen again,  2) putting faith in levees in a land without elevation is foolish and 3) evacuation is still the safest option. 

Fortunately, so far, this has been an inactive year with 2 named storms.  In fact you have to go back to 2006 when we had 3 through Aug. 17 and ended up with 9 named storms.   At our current rate we'll end up with between 7-9 named storms.   As we hit the peak (most active) of the season on Sept. 10th, I expect to see a 2-3 week stretch of 3-5 named storms .   The question we all want to know is WHERE WILL THEY GO?  The pattern seems to have been set up early this summer for systems to recurve to the north BEFORE  they get into the Gulf.   This would place the greater risk from Florida's east coast up thru the Carolinas to New England.    IF we start to see early Fall cold fronts that are stronger, perhaps we will not have a major hurricane threat for LA/MS.?   Bottom line, we have 4-6 weeks of uncertainty with nothing out there tonight that will impact anyone this week.  Stay tuned!