Hurricane Alicia was a small but powerful tropical cyclone that caused significant destruction in the Greater Houston area of Southeast Texas in August 1983. Although Alicia was a relatively small hurricane, its track over the rapidly growing metropolitan area contributed to its $3 billion damage toll, making it the costliest Atlantic hurricane at the time. Alicia spawned from a disturbance that originated from the tail-end of a cold front over the northern Gulf of Mexico in mid-August 1983. The cyclone was named on August 14 when it became a tropical storm, and the combination of weak steering currents and a conducive environment allowed Alicia to quickly intensify as it drifted slowly westward. On August 17, Alicia became a hurricane and continued to strengthen, topping out as a Category 3 major hurricane as it made landfall on the southwestern end of Galveston Island. Alicia's eye passed just west of Downtown Houston as the system accelerated northwestwards across East Texas; Alicia eventually weakened into a remnant area of low pressure over Oklahoma on August 20 before they were last noted on August 21 over eastern Nebraska.
Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. An arguable example of the "brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or subtropical for 16 days, most of which was when the storm was over land dumping torrential rainfall. The storm developed from a tropical wave in the northern Gulf of Mexico on June 4, 2001, and struck the upper Texas coast shortly thereafter. It drifted northward through the state, turned back to the south, and re-entered the Gulf of Mexico. The storm continued to the east-northeast, made landfall on Louisiana, then moved across the southeast United States and Mid-Atlantic. Allison was the first storm since Tropical Storm Frances in 1998 to strike the northern Texas coastline.
A mesoscale convective complex (MCC) is a unique kind of mesoscale convective system which is defined by characteristics observed in infrared satellite imagery. They are long-lived, often form nocturnally, and commonly contain heavy rainfall, wind, hail, lightning, and possibly tornadoes.
Tropical Storm Frances caused extensive flooding in Mexico and Texas in September 1998. The sixth tropical cyclone and sixth named storm of the annual hurricane season, Frances developed from a low pressure area in the Gulf of Mexico on September 8. The cyclone moved northward through the western Gulf of Mexico, making landfall across the central Texas coastline before recurving across the Midwest through southeast Canada and New England. A large tropical cyclone for the Atlantic basin, yet an average sized system by western Pacific standards, the storm produced heavy rains across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Texas, western Louisiana and the Great Plains.
Tropical Storm Arlene brought torrential rainfall to the western United States Gulf Coast, particularly to the U.S. state of Texas, in June 1993. The first named storm of the 1993 Atlantic hurricane season, Arlene developed from an area of low pressure in the Bay of Campeche on June 18. The depression slowly strengthened as it tracked west-northwestward and later north-northwestward across the western Gulf of Mexico. Arlene was subsequently upgraded to a tropical storm on June 19, but failed to intensify further due to its proximity to land. The cyclone then made landfall on Padre Island, Texas, with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and degenerated into a remnant disturbance on June 21.
Tropical Storm Grace was a weak tropical storm that struck Texas in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The eleventh tropical depression and the seventh tropical storm of the season, Grace was also the weakest storm of the season. On August 30 the storm developed from a long-track tropical wave in the western Gulf of Mexico. Grace remained disorganized throughout its lifetime due to an upper-level low to its west. The weak storm moved northwestward and made landfall on southeastern Texas. Grace quickly weakened over land, and dissipated on September 2 as it merged into a cold front.
Tropical Storm Cindy was a strong tropical storm which impacted portions of the United States Gulf Coast in September 1963. The third named storm of the 1963 Atlantic hurricane season, Cindy developed within a trough as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico on 16 September. The disturbance quickly intensified, with a distinct eye becoming visible on satellite imagery as it drifted north-northwestwards toward the Texas coastline. After peaking with 1-minute maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h), it made landfall at High Island on the morning of 17 September at peak strength with an atmospheric pressure of 997 mbar. Cindy remained nearly stationary for almost a day, dropping copious rainfall over the Texas coastal plain, before finally turning west-southwestward and dissipating west of Corpus Christi on 20 September.
The climate of Houston is classified as a humid subtropical climate, with tropical influences. August normally ranks as the warmest month at 84.6 °F (29.2 °C) and January the coldest month at 53.1 °F (11.7 °C).
Floods in the United States (2000–present) is a list of flood events which were of significant impact to the country during the 21st century, since 2000. Floods are generally caused by excessive rainfall, excessive snowmelt, storm surge from hurricanes, and dam failure.
The effects of Tropical Storm Allison in Texas included 23 deaths caused by extreme flooding. The first storm of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or subtropical for 15 days. The storm developed from a tropical wave in the northern Gulf of Mexico on June 4, and struck the Texas coast shortly thereafter. It drifted northward through the state, turned back to the south, and re-entered the Gulf of Mexico. The storm continued to the east-northeast, made landfall on Louisiana, then moved across the southeast United States and Mid-Atlantic. Allison was the first storm since Tropical Storm Frances in 1998 to strike the northern Texas coastline.
From May 3 to May 11, 2003, a prolonged and destructive series of tornado outbreaks affected much of the Great Plains and Eastern United States. Most of the severe activity was concentrated between May 4 and May 10, which saw more tornadoes than any other week-long span in recorded history; 335 tornadoes occurred during this period, concentrated in the Ozarks and central Mississippi River Valley. Additional tornadoes were produced by the same storm systems from May 3 to May 11, producing 363 tornadoes overall, of which 62 were significant. Six of the tornadoes were rated F4, and of these four occurred on May 4, the most prolific day of the tornado outbreak sequence; these were the outbreak's strongest tornadoes. Damage caused by the severe weather and associated flooding amounted to US$4.1 billion, making it the costliest U.S. tornado outbreak of the 2000s. A total of 50 deaths and 713 injuries were caused by the severe weather, with a majority caused by tornadoes; the deadliest tornado was an F4 that struck Madison and Henderson counties in Tennessee, killing 11.
Global weather activity of 2006 profiles the major worldwide weather events, including blizzards, ice storms, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and other weather events, from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2006. Winter storms are events in which the dominant varieties of precipitation are forms that only occur at cold temperatures, such as snow or sleet, or a rainstorm where ground temperatures are cold enough to allow ice to form. It may be marked by strong wind, thunder and lightning, heavy precipitation, such as ice, or wind transporting some substance through the atmosphere. Other major non winter events such as large dust storms, Hurricanes, cyclones, tornados, gales, flooding and rainstorms are also caused by such phenomena to a lesser or greater existent.
Hurricane Debra was a destructive tropical cyclone that developed during the 1959 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifth tropical storm and third hurricane of the season, Debra originated from the interaction of a cold-core low and a tropical wave on July 15. The system was designated a tropical depression on July 23 when it was south of Louisiana and meandered westward while it swiftly intensified into a tropical storm along the Gulf Coast of the United States. A turn towards the northwest became evident as it attained Category 1 hurricane status on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale the following day while it organized into a developed storm. As the hurricane curved northward at a slow forward speed, strength was maintained as it approached the coast of Texas as a minimal hurricane. It came ashore during the evening of July 24 local time between Freeport and Galveston, Texas. It rapidly weakened into a tropical storm and later a depression as it moved inland, and dissipated on July 28 while it turned northwestward. The remnant moisture later sparked upper-level thunderstorms in late July and early August.
Tropical Storm Bill was a tropical cyclone that produced widespread rainfall across East Texas, Oklahoma, the Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic. The second named storm of the season, Bill developed from a broad area of low pressure over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico on June 16. Because the system was already producing tropical storm force winds, it was immediately classified as Tropical Storm Bill. Initially continuing northwestward, Bill re-curved west-northwestward later on June 16. Around 12:00 UTC, the storm peaked with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). Just under five hours later, Bill made landfall near on Matagorda Island, Texas, at the same intensity. The cyclone weakened to a tropical depression and turned northward early on June 17. Bill remained a tropical cyclone until late on June 18, when it degenerated into a remnant low. The remnant low moved east-northeastward until dissipating over West Virginia on June 21.
The 2015–16 North American winter was not as frigid across North America and the United States as compared to the 2013–14 and 2014–15 winters. This was mainly due to a strong El Niño, which caused generally warmer-then-average conditions. However, despite the warmth, significant weather systems still occurred, including a snowstorm and flash flooding in Texas at the end of December and a large tornado outbreak at the end of February. The main event of the winter season, by far and large, was when a crippling and historic blizzard struck the Northeastern United States in late January, dumping up to 3 feet of snow in and around the metropolitan areas. Several other smaller snow events affected the Northeast as well, but for the most part the heaviest snowstorms and ice stayed out further west, such as a severe blizzard in western Texas in late December, and a major late-season snowstorm in Colorado in mid-April.
The 2011–12 North American winter by and large saw above normal average temperatures across North America, with the Contiguous United States encountering its fourth-warmest winter on record, along with an unusually low number of significant winter precipitation events. The primary outlier was Alaska, parts of which experienced their coldest January on record.
Tropical Storm Imelda was a tropical cyclone which was the fourth-wettest storm on record in the U.S. state of Texas, causing devastating and record-breaking floods in southeast Texas. The eleventh tropical cyclone and ninth named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, Imelda formed out of an upper-level low that developed in the Gulf of Mexico and moved westward. Little development occurred until the system was near the Texas coastline, where it rapidly developed into a tropical storm before moving ashore shortly afterward on September 17. Imelda weakened after landfall, but continued bringing large amounts of flooding rain to Texas and Louisiana, before dissipating on September 21.
The 2019–20 North American winter was unusually warm for many parts of the United States; in many areas, neutral ENSO conditions controlled the weather patterns, resulting in the sixth-warmest winter on record, and many areas in the Northeastern United States saw one of the least snowy winters in years. In fact, Baltimore and Islip saw no snow in February for the first time. Some notable events still occurred, such as a powerful blizzard that impacted the Western United States in late November, a series of cold shots in January and February, a snowstorm within the Texas Panhandle and a late-season blizzard in the High Plains.
