Hurricane Opal

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Template:Infobox hurricane Hurricane Opal was a major hurricane that formed in the Gulf of Mexico in September 1995. It struck the Yucatan Peninsula, then churned in the Gulf before making landfall a second time on the panhandle region of Florida, devastating the Pensacola area.

1 Storm history
2 Impact
- 2.1 Retirement
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links

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Storm history

Template:Storm path The tropical wave that would become Hurricane Opal emerged from the west coast of Africa on September 11. The wave would stay disorganized, and did not begin strengthening until it neared the Yucatan Peninsula, becoming a tropical depression on September 27 while 70 nautical miles (130 km) south-southeast of Cozumel.

The depression slowly moved over the Yucatan for the next several days, eventually emerging over the Bay of Campeche, where it was officially upgraded to tropical storm strength. After languishing for days and nearly dying out from the ocean-cooling effect of its own rainfall, it rapidly intensified and began moving north across the Gulf of Mexico. It reached Category 4 hurricane status with sustained winds of 130 knots and a central pressure of 916 mbar (the lowest ever recorded in a hurricane that never reached Category 5 intensity), possibly due to crossing the Loop Current, but weakened to a minimal Category 3 hurricane by the time of landfall at Pensacola Beach, Florida on October 4.

Opal remained a hurricane for nearly 12 hours after landfall, its rapid forward speed propelling it the entire length of Alabama before being downgraded to a tropical storm as it crossed into Tennessee. Over the following 12 hours, it was not downgraded to a tropical depression until it reached Ohio, and not declared extratropical until reaching Canada, where it still managed to bring squally conditions.

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Impact

Image:Opal1.gif

Storm deaths by region
Area	Deaths
Guatemala	31
Mexico	19
Florida	1
Alabama	2
Georgia	5
North Carolina	1
Total	59

Opal killed 59 people: 31 in Guatemala and 19 in Mexico from flooding, and nine in the United States. One was killed in Florida by a tornado. The other eight were killed from falling trees in Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina. No deaths were reported from storm surge, which is unusual due to the storm's strength and the location of landfall.

Opal caused $3 billion dollars in damage, making it the third costliest hurricane at the time when not adjusted for inflation. Much of the structual damage occurred near the coastline on the Florida Peninsula, though downed trees across much of the Southeastern United States left 2 milllion without power. [1]

Damage was heavy all the way inland to Montgomery, Alabama where winds reached 90 MPH or 145 km/h. Beginning the evening of October 4, numerous power outages were reported in metro Atlanta, where sustained tropical storm conditions overnight (including gusts to nearly 70 MPH or 110km/h) felled thousands of trees. Oaks were particularly susceptible, as their root systems were loosened by nearly two days of rain thrown against an approaching cold front by the storm.

Significant flooding and blackouts were caused by the storm as far north as Buffalo, New York.

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Retirement

Template:Seealso The name Opal was retired in the spring of 1996 and will never again be used in the Atlantic basin. It was replaced with Olga in the 2001 season.

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