Hurricane Harvey

On August 13, 2017 the National Hurricane Center began watching a tropical wave that was forming off the coast of Africa. By August 17th the storm had been upgraded to Tropical Storm Harvey. Between August 17th and August 23rd the storm appeared to be losing its organization. However, on August 23rd the storm was classified as a tropical depression because of the reforming of a storm center. By August 24th the storm was upgraded to a hurricane, the third of the season. The hurricane continued to pick of strength as it traveled toward Texas. It quickly moved from a Category 3 storm into a Category 4 hurricane. Harvey was the fist hurricane to hit the United States mainland since Hurricane Wilma in 2008. By August 26th, the storm began weakening and was downgraded to a tropical depression. This weakening caused the storm to stall for two days over parts of Texas. During this time heavy rain caused flash flooding.

The weather pattern continued to move northeast and passed through Louisiana on August 30th. The system continued to move through the southeast brining rain and strong wind. The system officially came to an end on September 3, 2017.

At the peak of the hurricane, winds were clocked at a 1 minute sustained rate of 130 miles per hour. Devastating flooding in Texas and winds affected thousands of people. To date, eighty-three casualties have been reported and damage estimates are in excess of seventy billion dollars. Damage spanned from the islands in the Caribbean, Belize, Honduras, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the United States.