Hurricane Harvey

Date: August 17–31, 2017

Place: Primarily southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana; also parts of the Caribbean region

Summary

Hurricane Harvey was a storm system that originated in the Atlantic Ocean and made landfall on August 25, 2017, on the coast of Texas. It devastated large portions of Texas and Louisiana over several days, causing severe flooding in Houston and elsewhere. It is estimated to be the second costliest hurricane in US history, second only to 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

Key Events

  • August 17, 2017—The National Hurricane Center identifies and names Tropical Storm Harvey and issues tropical cyclone warnings in the Caribbean.
  • August 24–25, 2017—Harvey develops into a Category 4 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico and makes landfall in Texas.
  • August 26–30, 2017—Harvey, now a tropical storm, releases record-breaking rains over the Houston area, causing major flooding.
  • August 30, 2017—The slow-moving storm makes a final landfall in Louisiana.
  • August 31, 2017—The National Hurricane Center ceases tracking the remnant elements of the storm.

Status

The devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey continued to be felt long after the storm dissipated. The fact that two other highly damaging storms, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria, followed in the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season meant there was considerable ongoing attention to the record-setting season—and discussion of how factors such as climate change may have played a role. Scientists suggest that human-generated climate change increases the intensity and frequency of tropical storms. For instance, unusually hot water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico helped strengthen Harvey at a point where storms historically weaken.

In September 2017, President Donald Trump signed a bill approving $15 billion in relief efforts related to Harvey alone. By late October, USA Today reported that almost two hundred people in southern Texas were still living in shelters, and there were many complaints of delays in federal emergency assistance. In the Houston area, wealthier areas had essentially fully recovered, but many less affluent victims remained displaced or otherwise felt lingering negative effects of the disaster. These disparate socioeconomic impacts were reminiscent of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In-Depth Overview

The storm that later became Hurricane Harvey formed off the west coast of Africa, initially appearing as a tropical wave on August 13, 2017. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) tracked the low-pressure area as it moved west across the Atlantic, naming it Tropical Storm Harvey on August 17. The storm caused local damage in the Lesser Antilles islands and northern South America, with one death recorded in Guyana. On August 19, the NHC downgraded Harvey to a tropical depression and then further to a tropical wave.

On August 23, after crossing the Yucatan Peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico, Harvey regenerated into a tropical depression. It continued to gain strength, becoming a tropical storm and prompting a hurricane watch across the Texas coast. Texas governor Gregg Abbott declared a state of disaster for thirty Texas counties in expectation of the storm. By August 24, several Texas counties and cities ordered mandatory evacuations. The NHC warned that the storm was continuing to gain strength and would likely be a major hurricane by the time it made landfall. Further mandatory evacuation orders were given across the region.

By the early hours of August 25, Harvey had intensified into a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds estimated at 100 mph, and by that afternoon reached Category 3 classification, with winds of 120 mph. In the evening, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a state of emergency at Governor Abbott’s request. Harvey made landfall that night as a Category 4 storm, with reports of 111-mile sustained winds and gusts of over 130 mph.

On August 26, the storm stalled, bringing huge amounts of rain to southeastern Texas over the next several days. Harvey slowly moved back out over the ocean and then made landfall again northeast of Copano Bay, Texas, by which time it had been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 mph. The storm center remained slow-moving, and the heavy rainfall caused severe flooding in Houston and the surrounding area. Governor Abbott deployed the Texas National Guard to assist in disaster relief, and volunteers organized their own efforts to rescue people from floodwaters. On August 30, the tropical storm made a third landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, after which it weakened to a tropical depression. By August 31, the storm had largely dissipated as President Trump visited Texas on a publicity tour, speaking to residents and passing out relief supplies to crowds.

In the aftermath, weather experts announced that Harvey broke the record for the most rainfall delivered by a tropical cyclone in the United States, with almost 60 inches of rain recorded in some parts of Texas. Several coastal cities in Texas, including Beaumont and Port Arthur, experienced 26 inches of rain over a single day, and overall, 27 trillion gallons of rain were estimated to have fallen across the state.

Estimates of the damage came over the subsequent weeks. Several evaluations indicated that the storm was one of the most economically damaging in US history, causing an estimated $75 billion in damage. FEMA estimated that there were 450,000 in need of disaster assistance and 30,000 in need of temporary shelter. FEMA, National Guard, and volunteer responders rescued approximately 72,000 people trapped in flooding and in areas damaged by the hurricane. A number of independent aid organizations came to Texas in the wake of the emergency, including the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and the Humane Society. Several foreign nations also either made monetary donations or agreed to send rescue and emergency personnel to help in the recovery efforts. Despite the catastrophic damage, however, the storm’s death toll was relatively low. Though reports varied, most suggested that approximately one hundred people were directly or indirectly killed by Harvey, mainly by drowning.

Key Figures

Gregg Abbott: Governor of Texas

Donald Trump: President of the United States

Bibliography

Chokshi, N., & Astor, M. (2017, August 28). Hurricane Harvey: The devastation and what comes next. The New York Times. Retrieved from HYPERLINK "https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/hurricane-harvey-texas.html" https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/hurricane-harvey-texas.html

Griggs, B. (2017, September 1). Harvey’s devastating impact by the numbers. CNN. Retrieved from PERLINK "http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/27/us/harvey-impact-by-the-numbers-trnd/index.html" http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/27/us/harvey-impact-by-the-numbers-trnd/index.html

Historic Hurricane Harvey’s recap. (2017, September 2). The Weather Channel. Retrieved from https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-storm-harvey-forecast-texas-louisiana-arkansas

Jervis, R. (2017, October 27). Harvey, Irma, Maria: Different disasters, different recovery. USA Today. Retrieved from ERLINK "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/10/27/harvey-irma-maria-different-disasters-different-recovery/807485001/" https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/10/27/harvey-irma-maria-different-disasters-different-recovery/807485001/

Meyer, R. (2017, August 27). Did climate change intensify Hurricane Harvey? The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/did-climate-change-intensify-hurricane-harvey/538158/

National Centers for Environmental Information. Costliest U.S. tropical cyclones. (2023, Sept. 11). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved Sept. 24, 2023, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/dcmi.pdf

Yan, H., Chavez, N., & Sanchez, R. (2017, August 31). Harvey aftermath: Death toll rises; so do the floodwaters. CNN. Retrieved from INK "http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/30/us/harvey-texas-louisiana/index.html" http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/30/us/harvey-texas-louisiana/index.html