July 15, 2003 8:58 PM

Yeah, it could have been a lot worse

Claudette weakens to tropical storm after swiping Texas' coast

In a word, we got lucky. Outside of a lot of wind and some heavy rain this morning, the worst of the hurricane had passed us by early afternoon. The wind destroyed an 8' metal windmill in our backyard, and we may lose a tree in the front yard, but we were never in any real danger. That's the good news. The bad news is that a lot of folks weren't nearly so fortunate.

Just a half-mile away, Todville Road flooded and there was some extensive property damage. Kemah was also hit pretty hard. Galveston experienced some minor flooding and some property damage on the Island's west end, but thankfully no one appears to have been hurt. Most of the damage took place farther south down the coast, in Surfside, Port Lavaca, and Port O'Connor.

As of right now, the remnants of what is now once again Tropical Storm Claudette is moving into Central Texas just south of San Antonio.

Claudette made landfall as a hurricane over Matagorda today, peeling off roofs and flooding houses before lapsing back into a tropical storm.

Historic buildings crumbled in Port Lavaca, and homes collapsed in Surfside. Large swaths of Galveston's westside beaches were swept to sea, stranded beach residents who tried to stick it out in Bolivar asked the Coast Guard to help them evacuate, and shrimpers had to be rescued off Sabine Pass. Trees were blown over as far south as El Campo and as far north as Houston.

Claudette's eye swept across the Matagorda Peninsula with at least 80 mph winds before noon, and the National Weather Service passed on unconfirmed reports of sustained winds of 94 mph and a gust of 104 mph at Point Comfort as Claudette made landfall.

By this evening, the storm had passed through Victoria and its winds had weakened to 70 mph, making it a tropical storm once again. As Claudette continues to move rapidly inland this evening, the storm is expected to lose more of its punch, and drilling companies are already starting to return workers to offshore rigs.

The center of the storm was just north of Beeville and 85 miles southeast of San Antonio, moving west at 14 mph.

A hurricane warning was lifted for Texas' Gulf Coast, and only a tropical storm warning remains between Freeport and Port Aransas as storm surges subside to the north.

Yes, it could definitely have been much worse. I feel for the people in places like Surfside and Port O'Connor, many of whom are now without homes. We'll be able to replace the windmill and we'll pick up the tree limbs that are strewn about the yard. The roof over us is still intact, and we're safe and dry. For that alone, I am very thankful. If Claudette had moved just a little bit farther north, it might have been a much different story.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on July 15, 2003 8:58 PM.

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