The 1960 Texas tropical storm brought severe but localized flooding to southeastern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in June 1960. The first

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

and first tropical storm of the

1960 Atlantic hurricane season The 1960 Atlantic hurricane season was the least active Atlantic hurricane season, season since 1952 Atlantic hurricane season, 1952. The season officially began on June 15, and lasted until November 15. These dates conventionally del ...

, this system developed from an area of showers and thunderstorms in the

Bay of Campeche The Bay of Campeche (), or Campeche Sound, is a bight in the southern area of the Gulf of Mexico, forming the north side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexican states of Campeche, Tabasco and Veracruz. The ...

on June 22. Initially a tropical depression, it strengthened and was estimated to have reached tropical storm status on June 23. Early on the following day, the storm peaked with winds of . Later that day, it made landfall near

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

, at the same intensity. The storm weakened slowly and moved across the

Central United States The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States, Eastern and Western United States, Western as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's d ...

, before dissipating over

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

on June 28. In Texas, the storm dropped up to of precipitation in

Port Lavaca Port Lavaca ( ) is a city in Calhoun County, located in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 12,248 at the 2010 census and 11,557 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Calhoun County and part of the Port Lavaca, Texas micropolita ...

. Thus considerable flooding occurred in some areas of south and eastern Texas. Throughout the state, more than 150 houses sustained flood damage in several counties. In addition, numerous major highways were closed, including portions of U.S. Routes 59, 87, 90, and then-185, and Texas State Highways 35 and 71. In

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, a few buildings in

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

were damaged from high winds. Flooding in that state resulted in three deaths from drowning. Light to moderate rainfall was recorded in at least 11 other states, though damage was minimal. The storm was the rainiest tropical cyclone on record in the state of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, dropping in Dunmor. Overall, 18 fatalities were attributed to the storm and $3.6 million (1960

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) in damage was reported.

Meteorological history

In late June 1960, a large mass of deep convection developed in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. A reconnaissance flight into the system on June 22 did not indicate a closed circulation. However, weather stations in Mexico reported a circulation and thus, it is estimated that the first tropical depression of the season developed at 0600 UTC on June 22. Early on June 23, barometric pressures in from

Tampico, Tamaulipas Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...

had significantly decreased, which indicated that the tropical cyclone was moving generally northward. Shortly thereafter, another reconnaissance flight into the depression indicated winds of only and a barometric pressure of . However, the plane may not have flown under the most intense convection. The depression gradually strengthened, and by 0600 UTC on June 23, it reached tropical storm status. Over Texas, airborne

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

s and the

Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company was among the three largest chemical producers in the world in 2021. It is the operating subsidiary of Dow Inc., ...

radar in

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Freeport, name of several space stations in the video game ''Freelancer'' (2003) * Freeport, a fictional town in the video game ''SiN'' (1998) * ''Freeport: The Cit ...

indicated curved convective banding associated with the storm. Though no wall cloud was reported, the

Kelly Air Force Base Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. I ...

reported a cloud center. The storm continued to intensify, peaking with winds of by 0000 UTC on June 24. At 0400 UTC that day, the tropical storm made landfall near

. After moving inland, the storm quickly weakened back to a tropical depression. Over the following 24 hours, the depression executed a small cyclonic loop over southern Texas. On June 26, the depression accelerated to the north-northeast, and eventually dissipated over northern

on June 29 at 0000 UTC.

Impact

Texas

Some towns in Texas considered it the worst disaster since a hurricane in 1945. In

Copano Bay Copano Bay is a northwestern extension of Aransas Bay, west of Rockport, Texas in Refugio and Aransas counties. It is supplied with seawater from the Gulf of Mexico via Aransas Bay, and fed freshwater from the Aransas River, Mission River and ...

, waves produced by the storm damaged three fishing piers; a shrimp boat also capsized, killing three people. In addition, another ship was beached. However, the tides measured were only above mean water levels. In Rockport, sustained winds reached and gusts were up to .

Padre Island Padre Island is the largest of the Texas barrier islands and the world's longest barrier island. The island is located along Texas's southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is noted for its white sandy beaches. Meaning ''father'' in Spanish, ...

Park also reported tropical storm force winds, with sustained winds of and gusts reaching . Heavy rainfall was reported, peaking at in

. As a result, water was reported in several homes and businesses in Port Lavaca. Two boys drowned in Port Lavaca after being swept by flood waters into the city harbor. Over fell in Bay City. It was reported by the ''Bay City Tribune'' that all of

Matagorda County Matagorda County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 36,255. Its county seat is Bay City, not to be confused with the larger Baytown in Harris and Chambers Counties. Matagorda County i ...

was "under water". Due to large amounts of precipitation, portions of U.S. Routes 59, 87, 90, and then-185, and Texas State Highways 35 and 71. Rainfall totals in the

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

area peaked at more than . At the height of the storm, about one-fourth of the streets in Houston were flooded. Three subdivisions of the city were significantly affected by flooding: Alameda Plaza, Pleasantville, and Sunnyside. Many shingles were blown off the roof of a house, and then water caused the roof to collapse into the dining room and living room. However, no one was injured or killed. Several hundred people were evacuated from places with poor drainage or low-lying areas. Between 150 and 200 houses were affected by flooding and damaged estimates reached $1.5 million in Harris County alone. In addition, three people drowned in the flood waters in Houston. Following the storm, the town of Port Lavaca requested aid from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and

Fourth United States Army Fourth United States Army was a field army of the United States Army between 1932 and 1991. History Interwar period Fourth Army (I) The Fourth Army was authorized by the National Defense Act of 1920 and was originally to be composed of Organ ...

. Later, cots and blankets were sent by helicopters and trucks. Three schools were opened as shelters for flood refugees in Port Lavaca. The

Texas Department of State Health Services Texas Department of State Health Services is a state agency of Texas. The department was created by House Bill 2292 of the 78th Texas Legislature in 2003 through the merging of four state agencies: the Texas Department of Health, Texas Departmen ...

sent water and sanitation teams to the areas affected by the storm, as well as 3,000 shots of

typhoid vaccine Typhoid vaccines are vaccines that prevent typhoid fever. Several types are widely available: typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV), Ty21a (a live oral vaccine) and Vi capsular polysaccharide vaccine (ViPS) (an injectable subunit vaccine). Dep ...

. In addition, Calhoun County was declared a disaster area. Overall, the storm caused $3.6 million and 15 fatalities in the state of Texas.

Elsewhere

Elsewhere along the Gulf Coast of the United States, light to moderate rainfall was reported in the states of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. In both states, affects were minimal, and rainfall was generally less than . To the north of Texas in the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, precipitation was also light, peaking at in Kiamichi. The storm brought moderate to heavy rainfall throughout

. Much of the state reported at least , while precipitation in some areas was more than . The

Ouachita River The Ouachita River ( ) is a river that runs south and east through the United States, U.S. U.S. state, states of Arkansas and Louisiana, joining the Tensas River to form the Black River (Louisiana), Black River near Jonesville, Louisiana. It i ...

reached flood stage at

Arkadelphia Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,380. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henders ...

. Three children drowned near Redfield after the car they were occupying was swept off

U.S. Route 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of I ...

and fell into a ditch. Near

, high winds damaged a few buildings. In

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, much of the state reported precipitation, though it was generally no more than . Heavy rainfall was reported in

, peaking at in Dunmor, making it the wettest tropical cyclone in the history of that state. Light precipitation was reported in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

; none of those states experienced more than of rain. The storm dropped rainfall was far north as

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. In those two states, precipitation was generally light, and did not exceed . Rainfall totals reached in Wisconsin and Michigan, respectively.

References

External links

Monthly Weather ReviewRainfall Map
{{1960 Atlantic hurricane season buttons Texas tropical_storm Hurricanes in Oklahoma Hurricanes in Mississippi Hurricanes in Arkansas Hurricanes in Tennessee Hurricanes in Missouri Hurricanes in Illinois Hurricanes in Indiana Hurricanes in Michigan Hurricanes in Kentucky 1960 natural disasters in the United States June 1960 in the United States Floods in Texas Atlantic tropical storms