Overview
1969 was a remarkable year, one that will long be remembered as the year that man first landed on the moon, the Miracle Mets shocked the sports world, and Woodstock took place in upstate New York. That year, a major hurricane, Camille, struck the United States as a Category 5 storm and was the second most powerful tropical cyclone ever recorded (only the 1935 Labor Day hurricane had a lower central pressure when it made landfall). Hurricane Camille made landfall in Mississippi, wreaking havoc from the Gulf States to as far inland as the mid-Atlantic, causing widespread flooding and record rainfall that killed hundreds.
NOAA's 1969 map of the path of Hurricane Camille; NOAA credit
Development stage
The first satellite image was taken on April 1, 1960 (TIROS), and weather forecasters knew that one of the best uses for this newly launched tool would be the ability to monitor tropical waves in the high seas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In fact, using satellite imagery, forecasters first noticed tropical waves off the coast of Africa as early as August 5thin 1969, this wave moved westward across the open tropical Atlantic. Satellite imagery later showed the system crossing the Leeward Islands at 1000 hours.th There was still no significant circulation in August, but after a few days things started to change. Until the 14thth In August, an Air Force reconnaissance plane sent to the unrest detected a central pressure of 999 millibars and surface winds of 55 mph, and satellite imagery showed additional circulation patterns and multiple bands of heavy rainfall. It was at this time that the tropical system inherited the name Camille and reached tropical storm status.
Tropical Storm Kamil did not last long. In mid-August 1969, it had favorable conditions for intensification. As of August 15thCamille reached hurricane status as it moved toward Cuba, with wind gusts as high as 115 mph. Camille passed over western Cuba as a Category 1 hurricane, producing 92 mph winds and 10 inches of rain.
Until the 16thth In August, Camille moved over Cuba and pushed through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, helping it continue to intensify. At this time, another Air Force reconnaissance aircraft flew into Kamil's eye and used a downwind sonde to record a central pressure of 908 millibars. Hurricane Camille is now moving north-northwest toward the northern Gulf coast at 14 mph, with the U.S. Weather Service calling it a “small but dangerous” storm. On this day, hurricane monitoring stations were set up along a stretch of more than 400 miles from Biloxi, Mississippi, to St. Marks, Florida.
A hurricane watch was in effect for a large swath of the northern Gulf Coast as Camille moved through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on August 16; Source NOAA/NWS
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August 17thHurricane Camille reached Category 5 status and was located approximately 250 miles south of Mobile, Alabama. Gulf states are now in crisis mode, preparing for what has become a giant hurricane making landfall. The last reading by an Air Force reconnaissance aircraft was taken on the afternoon of the 17th.th The central air pressure was measured at 901 millibars, with maximum surface wind gusts in excess of 200 mph. Only once has central pressure measured this low, during the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, which eventually passed through the Florida Keys between Miami and Key West. As the hurricane made landfall along the northern Gulf coast, easterly winds ahead of Camille generated storm surge in the marshlands of southeastern Louisiana. Meteorologists warned that “never before have densely populated areas been threatened by an extremely dangerous storm like Camille.” Mass evacuations emptied coastal towns along the Gulf Coast, and those that remained likely perished in the storm (there were rumors of “hurricane parties,” but none of the survivors remembered them).
Hurricane Camille's track and updated wind speeds; provided by NOAA, ESRI, Earthstar Geographys
Hurricane Camille made landfall on August 17th Around 10:30 pm (Central Time), it flew over Port Clermont, Waveland, and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. In 1969, it was the second Category 5 storm to make landfall in the United States on record. Many weather stations that were supposed to record pressure and wind were destroyed during the storm, and many records were only estimates, with gusts reaching 200 mph. The maximum surface wind speed near the center of Camille on the afternoon of August 17 was calculated to be nearly 201.5 mph. The highest actual measurement of a wind instrument, 172 mph, was found on the Esterline Angus wind recorder, before the instrument failed due to a paper jam. Maximum sustained wind speed can never be determined. Catastrophic flooding occurred from Louisiana to Florida, with tides reaching as high as 24.2 feet above mean sea level in some places.
Flood photos taken by University of Colorado/CIRES “30th Anniversary review”
Catastrophic flooding in Virginia wreaks havoc across interior areas
Camille weakened into a tropical depression as it moved across northern Mississippi and into western Tennessee. It then turns northeast through central Kentucky and then east through southernmost West Virginia and southern Virginia. By August 19, atmospheric conditions brought extreme rainfall and local geography increased the potential for catastrophic flooding on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but few were prepared for what was about to happen. Specifically, Camille's remains were entering an area with tropical air, a backdoor cold front at the surface, and an increasing high-altitude jet stream. In this area of Virginia, there is a narrow valley with steep ridges and sloping winds that increase rainfall. This highly unstable atmosphere combined with local geography resulted in historic and deadly flooding conditions.
Rainfall along the northern Gulf Coast and eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains has been catastrophic; NOAA credit
Mountain slopes between Charlottesville and Lynchburg, Virginia, received more than 26 inches of rain in 12 hours. Nelson County, Virginia, recorded 27 inches of rain, with reports of it being so heavy that birds were drowned in trees. [A post-storm “reanalysis” by NOAA suggests over 30 inches of rain fell in as little as eight hours in some spots]. Survivors recall a night between the 19thth and 20th In August, there were thunderstorms and lightning so fierce that “it was like daytime, the lightning did not flash and the sky was always bright.” LiDAR scans alone calculated a total of nearly 3,800 landslides in Nelson County, Virginia, which killed 153 people during the storm, including 123 in the county. After Kamil, the landscape changed dramatically and topographical maps became obsolete. To this day, the hillsides remain exposed and rocky, and mudslides have destroyed and flattened the forests. The rainfall was three times greater than Virginia's all-time record, which has not been broken since. (Thanks to Jason Elliott (NWS, Sterling, VA) for providing much of the information on Camille and its impact on Nelson County, VA).
Hurricane Camille is the second most powerful hurricane to make landfall in the United States in terms of central pressure; NOAA credit
final notes
Hurricane Camille will forever be remembered as one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history and one of only four Category 5 hurricanes to hit the United States. In addition to Hurricane Camille and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, two other Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall in the United States, both since 1969. In October, across the Florida Panhandle. In the case of Hurricane Michael, it wasn't until several months later that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducted a “reanalysis” comparing it to the original operational estimate when it made landfall near Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. Wind speeds increased by 5 mph to reach Category 5 hurricane status. Likewise, the 1935 Labor Day hurricane was actually not classified as a Category 5 hurricane until many years later, as official classification did not begin until the early 1970s.
Meteorologist Paul Dorrian
Uckfield
arcfieldweather.com
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