Preparations and Impact
Due to the system's proximity to land upon being declared a tropical depression and subsequent intensity uncertainties, the unnamed storm posed several challenges to forecasters that "vividly illustrated limitations that are of major concern at the National Hurricane Center." With operational forecasters noting the possibility of intensification, the first-ever tropical storm warning was issued along the northern Gulf Coast between Matagorda, Texas and Morgan City, Louisiana on August 9. Prior to 1987, gale warnings were issued in areas where winds above 39 mph (63 km/h) were anticipated. This warning was later discontinued on August 10 once the system moved inland and weakened. The United States Coast Guard advised ships to seek harbor to avoid large swells associated with the cyclone. Additionally, some non-essential workers were evacuated from offshore rigs. By August 13, several flash flood watches were in place over portions of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida as remnants of the unnamed system slowly moved through the region.
Throughout the United States, damage from the tropical storm amounted to $7.4 million, the majority of which resulted from flooding. Offshore, a woman was reported missing after she was thrown off her boat amidst rough seas produced by the storm. The system produced rainfall across a large swath of the southern states, with many areas recording more than 5 in (130 mm). Though it made landfall in Texas, the system's asymmetric structure led to relatively little rain falling in the state, peaking at 4.25 in (108 mm) in Umbarger. In parts of Louisiana, many streets were left impassable by high waters, creating widespread traffic delays. The most significant impact took place in southern Mississippi where rainfall in excess of 12 in (300 mm), peaking at 21.06 in (535 mm) in Vancleave, caused significant flash flooding, especially along the Biloxi and Tchoutacabouffa Rivers. The former of these experienced a record crest of 16.8 ft (5.1 m). More than 400 people were forced to evacuate due to rising water across the region as several homes were inundated with 2 to 4 ft (0.61 to 1.2 m) of water. In Columbia, 12.2 in (310 mm) of rain fell in just eight hours, triggering flash floods that washed away a portion of a small dam. Further east in Baldwin County, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida, many roads ere closed or left impassable due to high water. Additionally, the system spawned a brief tornado in Mobile County but no damage resulted from it.
Read more about this topic: 1987 Gulf Coast Tropical Storm
Famous quotes containing the words preparations and/or impact:
“The most evident difference between man and animals is this: the beast, in as much as it is largely motivated by the senses and with little perception of the past or future, lives only for the present. But man, because he is endowed with reason by which he is able to perceive relationships, sees the causes of things, understands the reciprocal nature of cause and effect, makes analogies, easily surveys the whole course of his life, and makes the necessary preparations for its conduct.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)
“One can describe a landscape in many different words and sentences, but one would not normally cut up a picture of a landscape and rearrange it in different patterns in order to describe it in different ways. Because a photograph is not composed of discrete units strung out in a linear row of meaningful pieces, we do not understand it by looking at one element after another in a set sequence. The photograph is understood in one act of seeing; it is perceived in a gestalt.”
—Joshua Meyrowitz, U.S. educator, media critic. “The Blurring of Public and Private Behaviors,” No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior, Oxford University Press (1985)