What Has Been The Worst Storms You've Experienced?

[NC George]

Floyd
Fran
Bertha
Isabel

In that order.

[AL Chili Pepper]

1) Frederic
2) Katrina
3) Ivan - 2 and 3 are real close
4) Danny - Rain, rain, and more rain
5) Camille
6) Georges
7) Juan (1985) - another big rainmaker
8) Elena - glancing blow, not really a big deal

[Frank P]

For the Biloxi Ms area... (west Biloxi)

Katrina = completely destroyed 11 of the 12 houses on my beach front block in West Biloxi, 25-30 foot surge... only one can be rebuild, I think this storm produced the greatest storm damage ever recorded in the US..... surge damage to the west even greater (GPT, Long Beach, Pass, Bay St Louis, Waveland) I've read a lot of arguments about the winds associated with Katrina but wind pales in comparison to what surge damage can do... you can build for wind, but you can't afford to build for water, unless you go up above it... my new house plans are going to put my beach front house ~26.5 feet above sea level, on 8 foot concrete reinforced pilings.... but probably won't help against another 30 foot surge...

Camille = 20-22 foot surge in WB, only minor damage for the houses on my block, only one house with any water damage (mine), wind damage was greater that Katrina's but pales in comparison to the surge damage

Isador (TS) = prior to Katrina highest storm surge in West Biloxi since Camille, 8.5 - 9 foot storm surge, no rain and wind gusts no greater than 60 mph max...

Elena (eye)- 8 foot surge in west Biloxi but at least Cat 2 winds, impacted from severe angle which reduced storm surge. blew a few shinges off my house

Georges (eye) - never got any right quad storm impact, surge 7 feet at best, no south wind, pounded Gautier and Pascagoula Ms with at least a 12 foot surge

Fredrick - about the same affect as Georges, less surge but a lot more rain

for the record I rode out Isador, Elena, Georges and Fredrick on the beach in Biloxi, rode out Camille on the east end of Biloxi (Point Cadet) which was totally destroyed by Katrina, and rode out Katrina in the center of the city in Biloxi... during Camille we had 5 foot of water in our house, however, Katrina destroy all the houses in that area... during Katrina the house I was staying in north of the RR tracks on Benachi street was one of three on the entire street that didn't have flood water... but it got really close and we had a good 4 feet in the street, luckily we were pretty high up

final disturbing note... had I stayed at either the point on east Biloxi or my beach front home during Katrina there's a pretty good chance that I might not be alive today......

[SootyTern]

1. Wilma; no rain, Cat 1 sustained with gusts to Cat 2, no power/water for 11 days (south Dade)

2. Katrina; unexpected, 14-16" rain,TS sustained with Cat 1 gusts, no power/water for 3 days(south Dade)

3. Georges; no power for couple of days, TS winds, serious rain, surge 9'(?) (Hattiesburg/Gulf Shores)

4. Opal; caught in evacuation mess trying to get out of Gulf Shores with 12 hours notice. Back then 916 mb/150 mph seemed like a big deal.

Special mention goes to a frontal squall line in Austin last Easter with hurricane force winds and golfball sized hail for 10 minutes. Blew out all the windows on one side of the friend's house I was staying in; shards of glass and hail were all over the floor 10 feet across the rooms. We were in the driveway cowering in a van.

[StormScanWx]

1) Ivan (2004)
2) Opal (1995)
3) Dennis (2005)
4) Katrina (2005)
5) Georges (1998)

[wxman22]

1. Tropical Storm Frances (1998) Woke up that morning and the streets in my neighborhood wree flooded. Soon the water started to rise & started to seep into my house we had to be rescued by boats!!! I lost all my stuff including my house I was also on the news. A couple of days later when I came back to my house there were water marks as high as the refregirator!!!

2. Hurricane Rita Even though I never lost any power doing the storm at the peak of the storm winds were sustained at 40mph and gusting to 60+mph.

3. Hurricane Ivan Even though were I lived at (Hammond,Louisiana or whwt the locals call it the North Shore) we didnt get any rain we did still see sustained winds at 35-40 mph & gust to 50mph. If Ivan whould'nt had turned it would of been a another story......

[O Town]

2004 season. In order of worst first.

Charley
Jeane
Frances

[jax]

camille, frederic, Elaina, Andrew, Georges, Ivan, Katrina

[skysummit]

1. Katrina
2. Andrew
3. Rita
4. Juan (1985...because our house was under water for a week)