Oct 4 1995 Anniversary of Opals Landfall

[cycloneye]

How many of the members experienced the landfall of Opal?

[Ivanhater]

me!! i remember playing out in the yard before it got to bad, lol

my grandpa stayed on pcola beach for erin earlier that year, but got to heck out for opal

[Brent]

I experienced Opal from East Central Alabama(just east of the eye)(200 miles northeast of Pensacola). We had 75-80 mph sustained winds for several hours... and gusts in the 90-100 mph range. It came through between Midnight and 6am and was the worst night I have ever experienced. There were more than a dozen trees lost and the only time I've physically seen not just the powerlines, but the POLES down on in the street. We were out of school for about a week.

...and to think, it weakened from almost a 5 to a marginal 3. I shudder to think what it would have done here if it hadn't weakened.

[Brent]

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1995opal.html

Report from the NHC.

[cycloneye]

Here is the whole track from start to finish of Opal.

[mtm4319]

I was on the west side of Opal - probably got strong TS-force winds. Our power was out for less than 24 hours.

Can we do something about these images becoming distorted? Maybe we could increase the width limit before the images are shrunk, because I've seen a lot of images posted here that are shrunk only a little bit, but enough to be an annoyance.

[CFL]

I evacuated from Pensacola shortly after 4am with my then 1 1/2 year old son. It took us 12 hours to get to North Alabama. I remember hearing about how many people got stuck on the roads and couldn't even make it out of town. I remember Opal (and that doesn't stand for "oh-pal") vividly.

[EmeraldCoast1]

Got out of town when the pressure dropped and was on the verge of Cat. 5.

Headed North to Meridian, Mississippi. Four hour drive took almost eight hours.

[SunnyThoughts]

I stayed for Opal also...here in Santa Rosa County, just to the east of Pensacola. The winds were not nearly as bad here as we experienced in Hurricane Erin just a few short weeks before. We were without power for only about 48 hours..much less than with Erin ( 7 days with no power).

[JuliannaMKH]

At the time I lived in Valley, AL. That's in Central AL right on the GA line. I had no idea a storm was even coming. I was in college and I was "hurricane illiterate." I showed up for class that morning, took a test and left. Shortly after I left they shut down the school. I didn't even know one was coming until I went to visit my dad. He freaked out and made sure I had supplies. My future DH and I both worked at the same place on second shift. They made us work up until around 10 pm and then let us go. Right as the storm was beginning to impact. I remember topping the hill leaving work and seeing the power grid fail all across town. DH and I made it to my house and no futher. We rode it out there. It was the first experience I'd had in my memory with a strong storm like that and it was incredible. I went from being boarderline afraid of storms to being fascinated with them. I guess you could say in a way it's because of Opal that I'm here today.
We went without power for a week. That I could've done without.

[fwbbreeze]

Evacuated north trying to escape the storm and it took 8 hours to get from FWB to Crestview....usually a 30 minute trip. BY the time we got to Crestview the storm was already approaching rapidly so we shacked up with some family friends. Remember coming back and seeing some incredible storm surge damage. Power was out for 4 days...but at least the temperature wasnt a scorching 90 degrees. Believe it was in the low 80's whole the power was out.

fwbbreeze

[CFL]

Seems like I remember one fatality with Opal. I think a tornado went through Crestview and killed a lady who was staying in her trailer.

[Brent]

Seems like I remember one fatality with Opal. I think a tornado went through Crestview and killed a lady who was staying in her trailer.

There were two or three inland(AL/GA) from trees falling on mobile homes.

[Buck]

I im NW Atlanta and we lost close to 10 large (very large) trees on our property, as well as several smaller ones. Loads of rain, strong winds. School was cancelled.

Quite an experience for an 8 year old in ATLANTA!

[nicdeedoop]

I lived in FWB at the time, remembering falling asleep on the floor after watching PCB weather guy say its headed away from us and waking up to the Emergency Broadcasting System...and they weren't testing the system.

[Buck]

Seems like I remember one fatality with Opal. I think a tornado went through Crestview and killed a lady who was staying in her trailer.

There were two or three inland(AL/GA) from trees falling on mobile homes.

Deaths were... 1 in FL, 2 in AL, 5 in GA, 1 in NC and the rest in Mexico and Guatemala.

[vbhoutex]

Evacuated north trying to escape the storm and it took 8 hours to get from FWB to Crestview....usually a 30 minute trip. BY the time we got to Crestview the storm was already approaching rapidly so we shacked up with some family friends. Remember coming back and seeing some incredible storm surge damage. Power was out for 4 days...but at least the temperature wasnt a scorching 90 degrees. Believe it was in the low 80's whole the power was out.

fwbbreeze

I wasn't there, but my parents lived in Shalimar at the time and had their boat in Niceville at a marina there. They tried to evacuate N also(that tells me how concerned my dad was-he knew his weather and wouldn't evacuate unless he REALLY thought they were in danger). They turned around and went home after 4 hours on the road and almost getting to the split heading to Crestview(about 2.5 miles I think). They lost all of their ridge vents and a couple of storm shutters and some shingles and of course quite a bit of their shrubbery and a couple of trees. A small twister went right up their street and severely damaged a home at the end of the street(Mark Hamil's parents home). When they could get to the marina, they found a 35' cabin cruiser sitting on top of their sailboat in its' slip at the marina. That marina is at the NW corner of Choctawhatchee bay(10 miles?) inland and if I remember correctly the surge was measured at 14' there and at 17' at the Shalimar bridge.

[Brent]

Opal 'devastates' Florida panhandle
Alabama, Georgia also feel storm's punch
October 5, 1995
Web posted at: 8:15 a.m. EDT

PENSACOLA, Florida (CNN) -- This waterfront city on the Florida panhandle is a "scene of devastation" after Hurricane Opal crashed in from the Gulf of Mexico with 144 mph winds. The storm quickly moved northward into Alabama, where it weakened into a tropical storm Thursday morning. At least two people were reported killed as the storm tore through the Southeast. Opal's heavy rain and high winds had widespread effects, spawning tornadoes, causing floods and blocking roads with fallen trees. Schools were closed and sporting events canceled. More than half a million people in Florida, Alabama and Georgia lost power, officials said, and it could be days before electricity is restored. Tens of thousands of people evacuated, clogging roads before the storm hit.

Opal came ashore between Navarre Beach and Gulf Breeze, Florida, just east of Pensacola, about 6:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, tearing up beaches, washing away waterfront homes, ripping off roofs and destroying an unknown number of boats.

At 5 a.m. EDT Thursday, Tropical Storm Opal was centered 55 miles east of Huntsville, Alabama, moving north at 25 mph. Forecasters said it will be over the eastern Great Lakes within 24 hours. Maximum sustained winds were 40 mph but the storm system continues to weaken and should soon become a tropical depression. Along the path of the storm, another four or five inches of rain are possible, especially in mountainous areas. Flooding and tornadoes are also a threat. A tornado watch is in effect until noon EDT across most of the Carolinas.

Emergency officials in Escambia County in Florida said Pensacola Beach is a "scene of devastation." Officials reported one restaurant destroyed by fire and leaking propane tanks floating in the Gulf. The bottom floor of the Holiday Inn at Pensacola Beach was completely gutted by water and the town's fishing pier was severely damaged, county officials said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent in relief teams and was planning to fly in water and other supplies. President Clinton signed an emergency declaration clearing the way for federal help with cleanup and rebuilding in Florida and Alabama. "Our hearts and prayers go out to all whose lives have been disrupted by the devastation," Clinton said in a written statement. "I will do all I can to ensure you get the federal support you need for successful recovery efforts."

As the storm moved northward, hurricane warnings were discontinued from Anclote Key on the west coast of Florida to Mobile, Alabama. Tropical storm warnings were dropped from south of Anclote Key to Venice, Florida.

Heavy rains preceded the hurricane throughout the Southeast. A Delta 727 overshot the runway Wednesday night at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, which had been drenched by daylong downpours, and got stuck in wet grass and mud. None of the 133 people on board was hurt. Near Atlanta, high wind from Opal tore a 70-foot experimental blimp from its moorings. Emergency crews worked to untangle the blimp from power lines.

On a scale where category five is the most dangerous hurricane, Opal was downgraded from category four to category three before coming ashore. Andrew, a category four hurricane, hit south Florida and then Louisiana in August 1992, killing 14 people and causing billions of dollars in damage. Hurricane Camille, category five, hit Mississippi and Louisiana in August of 1969, killing 256 people and causing damage in the millions. Opal is the latest in the busiest Atlantic hurricane season on record.