Impact
The precursor disturbance which later became Fern dropped rainfall up to 5 inches (130 mm) of rainfall across South Florida. Central and Northern Florida received 1 to 3 inches (25 to 76 mm) of rain. In Louisiana, after making landfall as a tropical depression, Fern produced rainfall up to 10 inches (250 mm) across the southeastern part of the state, including up to 7 inches (180 mm) in New Orleans. The outer bands of the tropical depression brought 3 to 5 inches (76 to 130 mm) of rain across the coastal sections of Mississippi and Alabama. There were no reports of damage or fatalities in either Florida or the eastern U.S. Gulf Coast.
As Fern made its final landfall, a weather station in Port O'Connor, Texas recorded a sustained wind speed of 86 miles per hour (138 km/h). In Corpus Christi, winds up to 66 miles per hour (106 km/h) were reported. In coastal Texas, storm tides of 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) above normal were reported from Galveston to Freeport. One spotter reported seeing a flock of swallows in the eye of the storm during landfall. Heavy rainfall from the hurricane fell across eastern and central Texas. A total of 10 to 26 inches (250 to 660 mm) of rain was measured in a stripe from Bee to San Patricio County. Other locations in Texas reported rainfall of 10 to 15 inches (250 to 380 mm), while areas from Galveston to Rockport received 5 to 12 inches (130 to 300 mm) of rain. The heavy rainfall caused severe flash flooding that isolated numerous small towns in eastern and central Texas. An outbreak of five tornadoes was reported during Fern's landfall, two of which caused minor tree and roof damage in Texas City. In addition, lightning from the hurricane caused six reported house fires on Galveston Island while 7,500 homes and business were damaged (mainly by flooding) near Corpus Christi. Two indirect fatalities were reported, both from drowning incidents, while on Mustang Island, the hurricane caused four Cuban fishing boats to run aground. In all, the storm left $30.2 million dollars (1971 USD, $168 million 2013 USD) in damage and two deaths.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Fern (1971)
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