We arrived at Pirates Beach to strong wind and surf reaching the dune line. Claudette was forecast as a minimal storm with a small tidal surge, moving northwest toward Galveston before an expected turn down the coast.
The story
Rex and Rosie traveled to Pirates Beach in Galveston to watch Hurricane Claudette arrive. What began as a forecast minimal storm became a close, memorable encounter with rising water, sustained wind, and an estimated six-foot storm surge.
Storm timeline
Winds were rising. The storm had finally turned west, but later than forecast, bringing the eye closer to Galveston than originally expected.
We considered leaving, but driving after dark in the rising wind was unappealing, so we stayed. Before bed, I lowered the electric storm shutters in anticipation of a power failure.
The power failed and woke me. Water was rising outside the front door, high tide was still hours away, and the house was swaying in rapidly increasing wind.
At first light, streets held three to four feet of water. Our elevated lower slab had about six inches. Winds were still rising and high tide had not yet arrived.
I moved Adrian’s car to the highest part of the slab, where water was only two to three inches deep. Substantial winds were constant, accompanied by hail-like rain.
The worst wind and water conditions peaked, with little further increase in the water level.
Wind and rain remained strong, but the tidal surge began to recede. Widespread flooding still made departure impossible.
We walked through Pirates Beach to observe damage and conditions, crossing deep water in places. We recovered our large wooden trash bin by floating it back from where the surge had carried it.
With the power still off and shutters closed, the house was dark. Rosie helped dispose of several quarts of melting ice cream—vanilla was her favorite.
Street flooding had receded enough to leave for Houston. East of Pirates Beach we saw more substantial damage and debris along FM 3005, although the water had withdrawn.
The dune socks limited damage from the roughly six-foot surge, though they would not withstand a major hurricane’s higher surge and wave action. Our beach house escaped significant damage aside from wind-driven water around the front door.
Beach erosion was substantial and the dunes were gone for the time being. Rosie and Rex were lucky it did not get any worse.
Although the power failed, the battery-backed weather station captured the storm archive. Standing in an estimated 50 mph wind was a vivid reminder that even a number that sounds modest commands full attention.
Photos and video from the storm
