Hurricane Bret Reports

Up to 16 inches of rain has fallen in Kenedy County, Texas, flooding low-lying areas. Flood impacts have been modest as a result of low population densities, prior dry conditions and rapid runoff back into the Gulf. Portions of southern Texas will see another 10-12 inches of rain from Bret.

...Bret Producing Heavy Rains Over Portions Of South Texas...

Tropical storm warnings continue in effect along the Texas coast from Brownsville to Port Aransas. These warnings are expected to be lowered this afternoon.

At 1 PM cdt...1800z...the center of Tropical Storm Bret was located near latitude 27.6 north...longitude 98.8 west or about 45 miles... 72 km...east of Laredo Texas.

Bret is moving toward the west northwest near 6 mph... 9 km/hr... and this general motion is expected to continue today.

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 40 mph... 64 km/hr...with higher gusts. Weakening is forecast to continue as the storm moves further inland.

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 115 miles...185 km from the center.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 993 mb...29.32 inches.

Rainfall totals of near 10 inches have been reported from a few locations in south Texas. Additional amounts of 10 to 15 inches are expected along the path of this slow-moving storm. For additional information on flooding...consult statements from your local National Weather Service office.

There is a risk of isolated tornadoes today over portions of south Texas.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
Hurricane Bret formed in the bay of Campeche on the 19th of august. It moved slowly northward across the western gulf of Mexico and strengthened to a 140-mph hurricane on the 22nd while approaching the south Texas coast some 70 miles east of Brownsville. Bret made land fall at 0000 utc on the 23rd on Padre Island with 115-mph winds. The a real extent of strong winds was small and Bret made landfall in a sparsely-populated region. There were no deaths reported and the total damage estimate is 60 million dollars. Bret was the first hurricane to affect south Texas since hurricane Allen in 1980.

Movies MPG
Hurricane Bret -MPEG Movie # 1 (~4.6 MB)
Hurricane Bret -MPEG Movie # 2 - closer view of Bret making landfall (~5.0 MB)

Images
Hurricane Bret - nice color image of Brett near Texas coastline
Hurricane Bret - nice close-up color image of Brett near Texas coastline
Hurricane Bret - late afternoon colorized ir, just before landfall
Hurricane Bret - late afternoon visible close-up, just before landfall
Hurricane Bret - late afternoon visible, just before landfall
Hurricane Bret - early morning before landfall - colorized ir
Hurricane Bret - early morning before landfall - closeup visible
Hurricane Bret - early morning before landfall - visible

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The ER-2 Doppler radar provides a dramatic cross-section view of Hurricane Georges' eye over Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic received heavy rain during this pass, as seen in the radar image at top, and subsequent rain eventually caused significant loss of life. The rain was enhanced significantly by the mountains

Cross Section
in the interior of the island. The mountains are about 2.7 km high (9000 ft) and produced what appears to be a huge thunderstorm over the mountains as shown in the blue - upward rising - moisture in the lower image. Significant research will be done to understand this very complicated interaction between Hurricane Georges and the mountains. Credit: NASA.

The most destructive part of a hurricane is usually the storm surge. The surge effect is due to the winds of the hurricane pushing up a "dome" of water in front of the hurricane. As this surge of water hits the coastal area tides may be several tens of feet higher than normal. This wall of water works it's way up rivers to cause damage far inland. The rise in water level happens at the same time as the heavy rains associated with hurricanes. The fall of ten inches or more of rain during the hurricane is not unusual. The tidal surge and the rainfall combine to cause flooding. The damage caused by the flooding of property is the largest cost to property owners due to hurricanes. Wind damages bring about the second highest cost, due to the physical power of the hurricane. The costs due to the hurricane just start with the physical damage caused by the hurricane. The general disturbance of every day life activities in any area impacted by disaster bring about costs due to business operations being disrupted. The ability of people to work may be limited due to the shortages of the essential requirements for life, for the need to find replacement housing, for the care of family members injured or traumatized by the disaster, and for the shortage of materials essential for work. There is some delay between the disaster and the availability of funding to begin repairs. Many business within a disaster area do not reopen, because insurance may be lacking to pay for the needed repairs, and even if insurance or loans are available, they may not be enough to cover the required repairs. Damage to essential data stored in computer systems may make restarting an existing business difficult. And any disruption in a business will cause an existing business' clients to seek other suppliers, so that when the business reopens it may find itself with out it's previous patrons. Hurricanes are one disaster in which it is possible to have several days warning prior to the hurricanes arrival. As the arrival of the hurricane can be to some extent predicted, it is important to begin preparations for the hurricane as soon as we have information that it may land in a location near us. Because we can not know exactly where the hurricane will hit, it is important to listen to the local weather authorities. Local weather authorities will issue warnings and announce evacuations. Given a large scale disaster your family may be cut off from any assistance for three days. Every family should have on hand a supply of food, water, personal and medical supplies to last at least 3 days. In any disaster situation it is possible that utilities will not be functioning. For this reason, you should keep on hand a supply of cash and a full tank of fuel in any vehicle. If we live in an area that has a history hurricanes, we can and should begin our preparations for hurricanes long before we receive any notification. Consult local building authorities about any improvements that may be made to your house to lesson the likelihood of damage to the structure. The biggest factor in determining the likelihood of your properties ability to withstand damage due to winds is the date of its construction. In recent years building codes have been upgraded. As a general rule, the older the property the more likely it is to sustain damage in a disaster. Walk around the outside of your property. Inspect the trees and landscaping for objects likely to fall or to be blown away by the winds associated with a hurricane. Consider purchasing storm shutters or pre-purchasing the supplies needed to protect windows from storm damage. Since water damage is the biggest cause of property damage in a disaster you should examine the possibly of purchasing flood insurance. Just because you are outside of the recognized flood zones does not mean your home will not be flooded. The cost of reparing damage due to flooding is not normally covered by most home owners policies, but is the biggest single cause of property damage.

The States Pages include the most complete reference on the net today about State and local disaster information as well as links to State government information and Newspapers in the State

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Atlantic Hurricane Names for 1999

Hurricane Arlene Hurricane Bret Hurricane Cindy Hurricane Dennis Hurricane Emily Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Gert Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Irene Hurricane Jose Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Lenny Hurricane Maria Hurricane Nate Hurricane Ophelia Hurricane Philippe Hurricane Rita Hurricane Stan Hurricane Tammy Hurricane Vince Hurricane Wilma