The highest storm surge occurred at Port Aransas where the tides reached 9.2 feet on the beach and 9.0 feet at the jetty. SKYWARN For residents and visitors that waited, there was limited time to make proper preparations or evacuate before Celia made landfall. Staff National Outlooks [13] By the evening of June 22, Celia was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane and the eye was no longer apparent on satellite imagery, mainly due to cirrus clouds over the system. [31] On June 22, the Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil (National System of Civil Protection) in the Mexican state of Jalisco raised the alert level to stage two for coastal areas. It has been fifty years since Hurricane Celia blasted the Coastal Bend. Celia was a Category 2 hurricane in the east Pacific. Although Celia remained far away from any populated landmasses, waves from the storm prompted storm advisories along the southern coastline of Mexico. On August 3, 1970, Hurricane Celia made landfall in Texas, causing $1.1 billion (1970 USD) in damage, the third-costliest hurricane at the time. Past Weather Events [32] The alert was later expanded upon to include coastal areas of Michoacán and Colima. Celia quickly intensified into a major hurricane by late afternoon with sustained winds measured at 115 mph and a central pressure drop of 25 millibars (mb) over an 8-hour period. Celia was the costliest storm to hit Texas at the time, surpassing Hurricane Carla, a category 4 storm in 1961. There was only minor damage in Port Aransas from the storm surge impact. The highest estimated wind gust was 180 mph at Aransas Pass and Robstown. Basic Weather Education The tropical depression clipped the northern portion of Cuba and became Tropical Storm Celia (winds greater than or equal to 39 mph) during the morning of August 1st when it entered the Gulf of Mexico. That afternoon, Celia degenerated into a non-convective remnant low pressure system;[1] operationally, the system was monitored as a tropical depression for an additional six hours before the final advisory from the NHC was issued. [1] Operationally, the depression was not warned upon until early the next morning. The statements updated the hazardous situation when Celia approached the coast. Celia formed from an area of low pressure on June 19, and quickly strengthened into a tropical storm and then a hurricane. The strengthening would not last long as Celia began to become extratropical, which allowed the system to weaken back into a Category 1 hurricane. Over 3,000 power poles were knocked down and mobile homes were shredded and were a total loss. The extreme winds from Hurricane Celia produced staggering property damage to the Coastal Bend community. Local Observations Page Not long after reaching this strength, wind shear increased and the system entered a dry, stable environment. Celia is the only system to ever form in the San Francisco Bay; Celia formed from a warm … Upon landfall, Celia was a "high end" Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph. Hurricane Celia is the first Category 5 hurricane to form on the DK Basin this year. [1] After briefly developing a prominent central dense overcast,[12] the storm's structure began to degrade for unknown reasons. All NOAA, It has been fifty years since Hurricane Celia blasted the Coastal Bend. On August 3rd 1970, Hurricane Celia made landfall near Aransas Pass as a major Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale with sustained winds of 125 mph. [23], During the late morning of June 25, Celia started rapidly weakening as it began to take a more northwesterly track into a more hostile environment, with cooler water temperatures and higher wind shear; all of these conditions are highly unfavorable for tropical cyclones. Hurricane Celia strengthened to a Category 5 storm in open waters in the Pacific on Thursday, but it did not pose a threat to land, forecasters said. When the eye of storm moved across Corpus Christi Bay, sustained winds of 110 to 130 mph occurred in Nueces County (including the city of Corpus Christi) north into the southern portion of Refugio County. This system was no threat to land, and fizzled northeast of Hawaii. Local Research. Graphical Local Storm Reports Rivers and Lakes, FORECASTS Texas Rainfall The storm also began to resume a westward track as it moved into an area of weaker steering currents. 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