Riviera Beach, Texas | |
|---|---|
  Riviera Beach  Riviera Beach | |
| Coordinates: 27°17′21″N97°40′01″W / 27.2892°N 97.6669°W Coordinates: 27°17′21″N97°40′01″W / 27.2892°N 97.6669°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Texas |
| County | Kleberg |
| Time zone | CST |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT |
| ZIP code | 78379 |
| Area code | 361 |
Riviera Beach is a small community located along Baffin Bay in Kleberg County, Texas. [1]
Riviera Beach was founded in 1907 by Minnesota-developer Theodore Koch, who purchased land along Baffin Bay and built a resort community named Riviera Beach. At this time, Koch also developed the main town of Riviera about 10 miles (16 km) to the west. Land divided into plots were sold to farmers in the area after survey. Koch planned to construct a road connecting Riviera to Riviera Beach, of which only a small portion was complete. In Riviera Beach, a hotel, ice plant, waterworks, and a large pier began to operate. Businesses soon followed along with a lavish park designed by a florist from Pasadena, California. A bank and telephone exchange were established in 1910. In 1912, two railroads were opened to connect Riviera Beach to Riviera, and a functional post office opened two years later. The next year, enough children resides in the town to allow the opening of a school. The resort quickly became a popular spot for water sports such as fishing and swimming. By 1916, the community was populated by 30-40 families. The popularity of Riviera Beach also caused settlers to build the former community of Vattman.
Later that year, the 1916 Texas hurricane destroyed most of the area, with most residents fleeing and the hotel becoming the only remaining business. The railroad also ceased operations, and parts were dismantled and sold. A drought in 1918 and the beginning of World War I further caused a further lack of growth in population. The population had diminished so severely in Riviera Beach that only two families remained in 1941.
During World War II, the community hotel, although still intact, was only briefly reopened. This was used to house soldiers from NAS Kingsville. The hotel was later sold to the Riviera Beach Hotel Corp. in 1946, but was never successful, being destroyed during a fire in 1952. No businesses were present until the 1950s when a bait shop was opened. Some growth occurred by 1990, with 50 residents moving to Riviera Beach. A county pier and some vacation homes were constructed around this time, the former being used by fishermen. Riviera became connected to US Route 77 through a farm road in Vattman. [2] [3]
Riviera Beach has a humid subtropical climate, with the average humidity peaking at 74% in May. The wettest month in Riviera Beach is also May, with an average of 2.6 inches (66 mm) of precipitation on average. This is followed closely by June with an average precipitation amount of 2.2 inches (56 mm). August has the highest average hours of sun with 365 hours on average. [4]
Being in South Texas, impacts from tropical cyclones are common in Riviera Beach. The community was heavily damaged by the 1916 Texas hurricane, which produced 90 mph (140 km/h) winds in the area. [5] Tropical storm-force winds were reported as a result of Hurricane Celia in 1970. [6] The eye of Hurricane Bret in 1999 passed south of Riviera Beach. [7] Storm chaser Josh Morgerman recorded a minimum barometric pressure of 1,008.2 mbar (29.77 inHg) during 2011's Tropical Storm Don in Riviera Beach. [8] In 2020, Hurricane Hanna brought heavy rainfall and destroyed the community pier which later reopened in 2021. [9] [10]
Riviera Beach is served by the Riviera Independent School District. [11]
The 1970 Atlantic hurricane season was the first year in which reconnaissance aircraft flew into all four quadrants of a tropical cyclone. The season officially began on June 1 and lasted until November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The season was fairly average, with 14 tropical storms forming, of which seven were hurricanes. Two of those seven became major hurricanes, which are Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The first system, Hurricane Alma, developed on May 17. The storm killed eight people, seven from flooding in Cuba and one from a lightning strike in Florida. In July, Tropical Storm Becky brought minor flooding to Florida and other parts of the Southern United States, leaving one death and about $500,000 (1970 USD) in damage.
Hurricane Celia was the costliest tropical cyclone in Texas history until Hurricane Alicia in 1983. The third named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 1970 Atlantic hurricane season, Celia developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on July 31. Initially, the depression tracked north-northwestward without significantly strengthening, and crossed over western Cuba on August 1. Heavy rains on the island caused severe flooding, leading to five fatalities. The depression entered the Gulf of Mexico and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Celia later on August 1. Due to warm sea surface temperatures, Celia rapidly intensified into a major hurricane on August 1 and after the creation of the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale in 1971 it was estimated to have been a Category 3 storm. Storm surge and swells lashed the west coast of Florida, especially the Panhandle, causing eight people to drown. Early on August 2, Celia began to weaken. However, the storm underwent rapid deepening again and peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) on August 3.
The 1921 Atlantic hurricane season featured the most recent major hurricane to strike the Tampa Bay area in Florida. Although no "hurricane season" was defined at the time, the present-day delineation of such is June 1 to November 30. The first system, a tropical depression, developed on June 1, while the last, a tropical storm, dissipated on November 25. Of note, three of the twelve cyclones co-existed with another tropical cyclone during the season.
The 1919 Atlantic hurricane season was among the least active hurricane seasons in the Atlantic on record, featuring only five tropical storms. Of those five tropical cyclones, two of them intensified into a hurricane, with one strengthening into a major hurricane Two tropical depressions developed in the month of June, both of which caused negligible damage. A tropical storm in July brought minor damage to Pensacola, Florida, but devastated a fleet of ships. Another two tropical depressions formed in August, the first of which brought rainfall to the Lesser Antilles.
The 1916 Atlantic hurricane season featured nine tropical cyclones which made landfalls in the United States, the most in one season until eleven struck the country in 2020. The first storm appeared on May 13 south of Cuba, while the final tropical storm became an extratropical cyclone over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on November 15. Of the 18 tropical cyclones forming that season, 15 intensified into a tropical storm, the second-most at the time, behind only 1887. Ten of the tropical storms intensified into a hurricane, while five of those became a major hurricane. The early 20th century lacked modern forecasting tools such as satellite imagery and documentation, and thus, the hurricane database from these years may be incomplete.
The 1919 Florida Keys hurricane was a massive and damaging tropical cyclone that swept across areas of the northern Caribbean Sea and the United States Gulf Coast in September 1919. Remaining an intense Atlantic hurricane throughout much of its existence, the storm's slow-movement and sheer size prolonged and enlarged the scope of the hurricane's effects, making it one of the deadliest hurricanes in United States history. Impacts were largely concentrated around the Florida Keys and South Texas areas, though lesser but nonetheless significant effects were felt in Cuba and other areas of the United States Gulf Coast. The hurricanes peak strength in Dry Tortugas in the lower Florida keys, also made it one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes to make landfall in the United States.
The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was the most destructive Atlantic hurricane season since 2005, causing over 1,000 deaths and nearly $50 billion in damage. The season ranked as the third costliest ever at the time, but has since fallen to ninth costliest. It was an above-average season, featuring sixteen named storms, eight of which became hurricanes, and five which further became major hurricanes. It officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. However, the formation of Tropical Storm Arthur caused the season to start one day early. It was the only year on record in which a major hurricane existed in every month from July through November in the North Atlantic. Bertha became the longest-lived July tropical cyclone on record for the basin, the first of several long-lived systems during 2008.
The Nueces Hotel in Corpus Christi, Texas, was a luxury hotel that also served the city as a center of social and political life during the early 20th century and was for years the largest building in Texas south of San Antonio.
Hurricane Bret was the first of five Category 4 hurricanes that developed during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season and the first tropical cyclone since Hurricane Jerry in 1989 to make landfall in Texas at hurricane intensity. Forming from a tropical wave on August 18, Bret slowly organized within weak steering currents in the Bay of Campeche. By August 20, the storm began to track northward and underwent rapid intensification on August 21. After this period of strengthening, Bret attained its peak intensity with winds of 145 miles per hour (233 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 944 mbar (hPa; 27.9 inHg). Later that day, the storm weakened to a Category 3 hurricane and made landfall on Padre Island, Texas. Shortly thereafter, the storm weakened further, becoming a tropical depression 24 hours after moving inland. The remnants of the storm eventually dissipated early on August 26 over northern Mexico.
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.
The 1916 Texas hurricane was an intense and quick-moving tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Jamaica and South Texas in August 1916. A Category 4 hurricane upon landfall in Texas, it was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the United States in three decades. Throughout its eight-day trek across the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane caused 37 fatalities and inflicted $11.8 million in damage.
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The population was 277,454 at the 2000 census; in 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 285,175, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the three-county Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger Corpus Christi-Kingsville Combined Statistical Area. The translation from Latin of the city's name is Body of Christ, given to the settlement by the Spanish, in honor of the Blessed Sacrament (Eucharist). The city has been nicknamed The Sparkling City by the Sea, or "Corpitos" particularly in literature promoting tourism.
The 1960 Texas tropical storm brought severe but localized flooding to southeastern Texas in June 1960. The first tropical cyclone and first tropical storm of the 1960 Atlantic hurricane season, this system developed from an area of showers and thunderstorms in the Bay of Campeche on June 22. Initially a tropical depression, it strengthened and was estimated to have reached tropical storm status on June 23. Early on the following day, the storm peaked with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). Later that day, it made landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas, at the same intensity. The storm weakened slowly and moved across the Central United States, before dissipating over Illinois on June 28.
The 1933 Cuba–Brownsville hurricane was one of two storms in the 1933 Atlantic hurricane season to reach Category 5 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale. It formed on August 22 off the west coast of Africa, and for much of its duration it maintained a west-northwest track. The system intensified into a tropical storm on August 26 and into a hurricane on August 28. Passing north of the Lesser Antilles, the hurricane rapidly intensified as it approached the Turks and Caicos islands. It reached Category 5 status and its peak winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) on August 31. Subsequently, it weakened before striking northern Cuba on September 1 with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). In the country, the hurricane left about 100,000 people homeless and killed over 70 people. Damage was heaviest near the storm's path, and the strong winds destroyed houses and left areas without power. Damage was estimated at $11 million.
The 1942 Matagorda hurricane was the most intense and costliest tropical cyclone of the 1942 Atlantic hurricane season. The second tropical storm and hurricane, as well as the first major hurricane of the year, it originated from a tropical wave near the island of St. Lucia on August 21. Moving generally westward across the Caribbean Sea, the storm remained weak for much of its early existence. However, it gradually intensified, and reach hurricane strength south of Jamaica on August 25 before coming ashore the Yucatán Peninsula late on August 27. Once in the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane quickly strengthened, and attained its peak intensity on August 29 as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). However, nearing the Texas Gulf Coast, the storm waned in intensity, and was only a Category 1 hurricane by the time it made a final landfall near Matagorda, Texas on August 30. Continuing inland, the hurricane weakened, and dissipated into a remnant low on August 31.
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