Hurricane Elena was a category 3 major hurricane that produced heavy damage along the Gulf Coast of the United States in August and September of the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season, Elena developed near Cuba from a tropical wave. It quickly strengthened, reaching peak winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) after stalling in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Elena turned to the west-northwest, and ultimately made landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, as a Category 3 hurricane. The storm quickly dissipated over land.
Elena's unusual path through the Gulf of Mexico, which included a loop, prompted many to evacuate from the coastline. Due to its powerful winds, Elena caused $2.7 billion in damage (2005 USD), primarily in property damage. The hurricane caused extensive beach erosion in Florida, while powerful waves damaged the oyster crop. Hurricane Elena was responsible for no direct deaths, though four people were indirectly killed due to the storm.
Read more about Hurricane Elena: Meteorological History, Impact
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“Thought and beauty, like a hurricane or waves, should not know conventional, delimited forms.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)