Hurricane Audrey
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Hurricane Audrey was a powerful hurricane that devastated coastal Louisiana in the USA during the 1957 Atlantic hurricane season.
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Storm history
Template:Storm path A tropical wave that entered the Bay of Campeche on June 24th organized into a tropical storm on the 25th. Conditions were ideal for Audrey's development; very warm water temperatures that were 2º to 3º Template:Tcunits above average, and a strong anticyclone over the storm. Initially small and poorly organized, Audrey grew in size and intensity, reaching hurricane strength later on the 25th. In the first days of its life, moved slowly northward across the Gulf of Mexico, but as it increased its forward speed, its wind speed increased greatly, reaching a peak of 145 mph winds before making landfall near Sabine Pass, Texas on June 27 as a Category 4 hurricane. Audrey became extratropical the next day, and continued northeast as a powerful extratropical storm.
Impact
Audrey's 12-foot (3.7 m) storm surge devastated Cameron, Louisiana, causing $150 million in damage. Officially, Audrey was responsible for 390 deaths, although unofficial sources claim the number is over 500. Audrey is ranked as the sixth deadliest hurricane to hit the United States mainland since accurate record-keeping began in 1900. No storm to hit the US since had caused as many fatalities until Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Image:Hurricane Audrey radar LCH.jpg Hurricane Audrey was one of the first hurricanes to be observed by weather radar. However, due to Audrey's rapid motion and the limited communications infrastructure in Cameron Parish, this additional data was not effective in preventing loss of life.
Some blamed inadequate warnings issued by the Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) for the large number of fatalities. In Bartie v. U.S., Cameron resident Whitney Bartie sued the Weather Bureau for negligence, blaming the deaths of his wife and five children on insufficient warnings from the Bureau. The court ruled for the Bureau, citing expert testimony that the warnings issued "were as accurate as could be expected at that time", as well as numerous legalities. The ruling was upheld on appeal, and numerous other similar cases were withdrawn.
Retirement
Template:Seealso The name Audrey was retired and will never be used for an Atlantic hurricane again; this was before the formal lists were created, so it was not replaced with any particular name.
Records
Audrey remains the earliest storm of any Atlantic hurricane season to reach Category 4 intensity in the recorded history of the basin. Audrey attained Category 4 strength on June 27. At the time, Audrey was the strongest storm to form prior to August. It held this record for nearly fifty years before Hurricane Dennis broke it in 2005 (which was itself broken only nine days later by Hurricane Emily). It remains the strongest storm ever to form in June.