homelesswanderer's WunderBlog

Last Updated: 8:26 PM GMT on August 23, 2009 — Last Comment: 8:29 PM GMT on August 23, 2009

	TX/LA Racer's Storm 1837

Posted by: homelesswanderer, 6:09 AM GMT on July 07, 2009

Hi Everyone. Found this interesting. Hope you all enjoy. :)
And may the season stay slow enough to allow us to bury our heads in the past for a while.

October 2nd-6th, 1837: Racer's Storm The first recorded storm to rake the entire coast was Racer's Storm on October 5th, named for a British sloop of war which encountered the storm in the extreme Northwest Caribbean on September 28th. It is remembered as one of the most destructive storms of the 19th century due to its extreme duration and 2000 mile long path of destruction.

The hurricane made landfall briefly south of Brownsville near Matamoros, lashing the coast for three days as the storm slowed to a near halt from the 2nd through the 4th of October. All vessels in Brazos Santiago fell victim to the storm. Paralleling the coast northeast, the storm took another ship victim offshore Matagorda Bay. Settlements along the bay all suffered heavy losses. All vessels at Velasco were driven ashore.

The map below shows the counties, in red, where the Racer's Storm affected most.

Then it was Galveston's turn. A storm surge of 6 to 7 feet higher than the spring tide inundated the coast. The scene on the island was one of utter desolation. Nearly all the homes on the island were blown down; all provisions were lost. The new Tremont hotel and two churches also were blown over. Water levels at Houston rose 4 feet. The whole character of the harbor entrance shifted during the hurricane. Ships were shoved as far as 3 miles inland. A long three masted bark was driven 5 miles inland on the ensuing storm surge. Two Texas Navy schooners were dashed to pieces on Galveston Island. The storm finally passed offshore Sabine Pass on the 6th into the Louisiana coastal waters. At least 2 lives were lost.

Then onto Louisiana...

October 6-7, 1837: Racer's Storm hit Matamoros, Mexico before recurving northeast and striking Louisiana coast just east of Cameron; moved east across Gulf coast before heading across North Carolina and then out into the Atlantic. Storm caused a surge of 8 feet of water above high tide on Lake Pontchartrain.

New Orleans experienced a "gale" on the 5th and 6th, destroying chimneys, awnings, and many area roofs. The City Exchange on Lewis Street, which was under construction at the time, suffered much damage. The original wooden Bayou St. John lighthouse, the first built by the U.S. Government outside the original 13 colonies, was swept into obscurity. All wharves along the Mississippi coast were washed away with the tide. The storm caused widespread flooding and considerable damage to shipping; all boats, including 4 steamboats, perished in the storm.

Lower portions of New Orleans were submerged. Many of the buildings were damaged or carried away by the tide. Crops were seriously damaged along both sides of the Mississippi, particularly sugarcane and cotton. Six lives were lost.

Could you imagine this today???

Louisiana History Link

Texas History Link

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Updated: 6:11 AM GMT on July 07, 2009

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	Jet stream questions and other stuff

Posted by: homelesswanderer, 11:16 PM GMT on March 30, 2009

Hi Everyone. I'm sure some of you have seen me come out of my lurk from time to time on Dr. Master's blog. Discovered this site last August after Edouard came calling in the middle of the night, thankfully he wasn't another Humberto. We seem to have a knack for night storms around here. All the more to terrify us I suppose.LOL. If I ever become more technologically savvy theres a great video/audio of just the sounds of Ike on youtube I'd like to post.CREEPY! Last s...

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