Hurricane Elena

For other storms of the same name, see Hurricane Elena(disambiguation).

Hurricane Elena was an unpredictable and damagingtropical cyclone that affected eastern and central por-tions of the United States Gulf Coast in late August andearly September 1985. Threatening popular tourist des-tinations during Labor Day weekend, Elena repeatedlydeviated from its forecast path, triggering evacuationsof unprecedented extent. The hurricane wrought havocto property and the environment between southwesternFlorida and eastern Louisiana, though lesser effects werefelt well beyond those areas. Elena developed on Au-gust 28 near Cuba, and after traveling lengthwise acrossthe island with little impact, it entered the Gulf of Mex-ico and continued to strengthen. Initially projected tostrike the central Gulf Coast, the hurricane unexpectedlyveered toward the east on August 30, stalling just 50 mi(80 km) west of Cedar Key, Florida. Despite predictionsthat Elena would continue eastward across Florida, thecyclone remained nearly stationary for about 48 hoursbefore slowly retrograding westward, ultimately makinglandfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, on September 2 as aCategory 3 major hurricane. The storm quickly weak-ened upon moving ashore and dissipated on September4.The hurricane’s unpredictable shifts in direction createdwhat was considered the largest peacetime evacuation inthe nation’s history. Evacuations occurred in sequence tofollow the storm’s forecast positions, and many residentsand tourists along portions of the Gulf Coast were forcedto leave twice in a matter of days. Preparations weregenerally timely and efficient, though accommodationsand resources at storm shelters were stretched thin, andmany refugees tried to return home against officials’ or-ders. About 1.25 million people fled the storm in Floridaalone, contributing to a region-wide total of nearly 2 mil-lion evacuees. Tropical cyclone warnings and watcheswere continuously issued and adjusted, and forecastersstressed the storm’s destructive potential for days.Elena’s slow movement off western Florida resulted insevere beach erosion and damage to coastal buildings,roads, and seawalls, especially to those of old or inad-equate construction. Destruction was greatest near theshore and on islands such as Cedar Key and Dog Is-land, though tornadoes spawned by the hurricane sweptthrough communities and mobile home parks well in-land. The hurricane devastated the Apalachicola Bayshellfish industry, killing large quantities of oysters, de-

stroying their reefs, and leaving thousands of workers un-employed. Farther west, Dauphin Island in Alabama en-dured wind gusts as high as 130 mph (210 km/h) and asignificant storm surge. The island sustained some of themost significant damage inflicted by Elena, including sev-eral hundred damaged or demolished homes. The rest ofthe state’s coast also sustained considerable damage, andthe inland pecan and soybean crops were severely dimin-ished in Alabama and Mississippi.Over 13,000 homes were damaged in Mississippi, and200 were destroyed. Cities close to the Alabamaborder—including Pascagoula—experienced widespreaddamage to residences, schools, and businesses, and thecommunity of Gautier was effectively isolated from theoutside world. Several apparent but unconfirmed tor-nadoes appear to have exacerbated the damage in theGulfport area. Wind damage extended into portions ofeastern Louisiana. Overall, nine people died as a re-sult of the hurricane: two in Texas due to drownings inrip currents, three in Florida, two in Louisiana, one inArkansas, and one in a maritime accident in the Gulfof Mexico. Damage totaled about $1.3 billion,[1] andpower outages from the storm affected 550,000 people.In Elena’s wake, President Ronald Reagan declared partsof Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida federal disaster ar-eas, making storm victims eligible for financial aid andtemporary housing. The name Elena was later retiredfrom the cyclical list of Atlantic hurricane names becauseof the storm’s effects.

1 Meteorological history

Map plotting the track and intensity of the storm according to theSaffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale

The origins of Hurricane Elena trace to an easterly

1

2 2 PREPARATIONS

tropical wave that was first identified off the western coastof Africa on August 23, 1985. The system sped westwardacross the Atlantic at up to 35 mph (56 km/h). Its rapidmotion, combined with the presence of an unusually hos-tile Saharan Air Layer, prevented tropical cyclogenesisfor several days. Driven by a strong subtropical ridge toits north, the wave quickly approached North America asit began to show signs of organization. At 00:00 UTCon August 28, the disturbance developed into a tropicaldepression while over the Windward Passage. The newlydesignated depression began to track west-northwestwardover Cuba, which is known to disrupt tropical cyclone de-velopment. Despite that, its central barometric pressurecontinued to deepen, and reconnaissance aircraft foundwinds exceeding 50 mph (80 km/h) near the center. Inresponse, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the de-pression to Tropical StormElena over northern Cuba lateron August 28.[2][3]

After passing north of Havana, Cuba, Elena emergedinto the Gulf of Mexico. At 12:00 UTC on August 29,Elena intensified into a Category 1 hurricane.[3] Analy-sis of steering currents through the morning of August30 suggested that Elena would continue on its north-westward track, striking the area between New Orleans,Louisiana, and Biloxi, Mississippi within 30 hours.[4] Un-expectedly, a mid-to-upper-level trough of low pressurediving in from the northwest created a weakness in theeasterly currents, allowing Elena to recurve and slow dras-tically in forward speed.[2][5] Roughly 24 hours after at-taining hurricane intensity, the storm abruptly turned eastin response to the trough.[2] Having defied initial fore-casts, Hurricane Elena drifted on its new course towardthe coast of northwest Florida. Forecasters now calledfor the trough to direct the hurricane across the FloridaPeninsula and into the western Atlantic. However, the rel-atively weak trough moved rapidly, and instead of fullyengaging Elena, its axis passed over the storm’s center.Further, post-storm analysis of water vapor imagery sug-gested that the hurricane split the trough into two distinctsegments.[4]

Extrapolation from the storm’s eastward progress yieldeda projected landfall location near Levy County.[6] How-ever, after the passage of the upper-level system earlyon August 31, steering currents slackened, and Elena be-came nearly stationary in the extreme northeastern Gulfof Mexico. At its closest, the center of the storm wasaround 50 mi (80 km) from Cedar Key, Florida,[2][5]with maximum sustained winds estimated at 105 mph(170 km/h).[7] Elena’s intensity remained consistent, andthe cyclone was able to continue strengthening as soonas movement resumed. Early on September 1, Elenareached Category 3 major hurricane status.[3] An area ofhigh pressure soon began to build over the eastern UnitedStates, causing Elena to slowly retrograde westward.[7]For much of September 1, the center of the hurri-cane was within range of the WSR-57 radar station inApalachicola, Florida, enabling extensive study of small

Geopotential height chart for the 500-millibar level, showingElena (the closed isohypse over the Gulf of Mexico) on August30. The trough that turned Elena toward the east can be seenembedded within the flow over the United States, and the ridgeresponsible for eventually pushing the storm back is denoted tothe east of Florida.

features within the eye and surrounding eyewall. Duringthat period of observation, the previously unobstructedeye became cloud-filled.[8]

The hurricane accelerated on a trajectory toward the cen-tral U.S. Gulf Coast, sliding south of the Florida Panhan-dle. During the afternoon of September 1, the hurricaneattained its peak intensity, with winds of 125 mph (205km/h) as confirmed by reconnaissance aircraft.[7] Onthe morning of September 2, Elena approached coastalMississippi from the east-southeast, still at major hur-ricane status. It came ashore close to Biloxi,[7] whichwas coincidentally within the hurricane’s first forecastdestination range before its extended detour.[4] Once in-land, the hurricane immediately deteriorated, weaken-ing to a tropical storm just hours after landfall,[3] andits center rapidly filled.[9] The system curved northwest-ward over Mississippi and Louisiana, and despite weak-ening, it continued to ignite thunderstorm activity whichspawned heavy rains. Elena persisted for several days be-fore degenerating into a remnant area of low pressure onSeptember 4. Its associated cloud structure became dis-torted on September 5, and dissipated over Kentucky thatsame night.[5]

2 Preparations

The unpredictable nature of the hurricane, in conjunc-tion with its arrival at popular tourist destinations on theLabor Day holiday weekend, severely complicated prepa-rations along the Gulf Coast.[6] Evacuations and the hoist-ing of weather advisories inadvertently occurred in stagesto keep up with Elena’s shifts in direction; hurricanewarnings were in effect at one point or another for ev-ery coastal location betweenMorgan City, Louisiana, andSarasota, Florida. Much of the northern Gulf Coast

3

was under a hurricane warning on two separate occa-sions for two different trajectories of the storm.[10] Evac-uations of residents and vacationers also overlapped inmany cases.[6] Collectively, this led to the “largest numberof people ever evacuated”, according to Robert Case.[11]Some evacuees moved inland to meet relatives, but manystayed relatively local, filling hotels and designated shel-ters such as schools and churches.[6] Despite the unusu-ally fluid scenario, officials were well aware of the storm’sdestructive power days before its actual landfall. Na-tional Hurricane Center hurricane expert Bob Sheets cau-tioned on August 30 that Elena “will be over a $1 billionstorm”.[12]

Hurricane Elena early on September 1, shortly before attainingpeak intensity and accelerating to the west

During Elena’s initial approach, the first series ofhurricane warnings were issued between Grand Isle,Louisiana, and Apalachicola, Florida. The storm’s pro-jected path quickly nudged westward, prompting thewarnings to be extended to Morgan City, Louisiana, andtruncated to Pensacola, Florida on their eastern reach.[13]Heeding the advisories, nearly one million residents andvacationers fled the storm’s path.[6] Personnel on offshoreoil rigs in the northern Gulf of Mexico began leavingas early as August 29.[14] The governors of Louisiana,Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida declared states ofemergency by August 30.[15] Huge crowds formed atstores as individuals searched for emergency supplies,and simultaneously, lines grew at gas stations. Due tothe impending danger, many businesses closed and for-tified their buildings. Across the Gulf Coast, classes atschools were cancelled, and residents in the New Or-leans area were particularly wary of what was being calledthe first serious hurricane threat in 20 years (HurricaneBetsy caused catastrophic flooding in and around NewOrleans in 1965).[16] In Mississippi, the mass exoduscreated bumper-to-bumper traffic on crucial highways,

such as the west–east U.S. Route 90.[17] In Florida, then-Governor Bob Graham activated 250 National Guardtroops on August 30 to facilitate efficient evacuations,stating that 1,600 more were on standby.[18] By that time,it became evident that Elena would head farther east thaninitially expected, stirring more concern for the east-ern Gulf Coast. Accordingly, hurricane warnings weredropped for coastal Louisiana west of Grand Isle and re-placed eastward to Apalachicola, Florida.[12][19]

By the evening of August 30, after Elena’s sharp turnto the east, hurricane warnings along most of the north-ern Gulf Coast were discontinued. In accordance, evac-uees between Louisiana and the four westernmost coun-ties of the Florida Panhandle returned home as shel-ters closed.[19][20] With the storm’s new course, the areaof highest threat translated east to the remainder ofthe Panhandle and the western Florida Peninsula.[6][20]As such, Governor Graham recommended evacuationssouth to the Tampa area late on August 30.[19] Amandatory evacuation was then issued overnight for tenmore coastal counties, encompassing 573,000 affectedindividuals.[6][20] On August 31, Governor Graham ad-vised residents in vulnerable areas of 15 inland countiesto find safer ground.[21] In response to the heighteningdanger, most of the National Guard troops previously onstandby were sent to block access to certain areas, and anadditional 3,000 were placed on standby.[22]

In the greater St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, area alone,320,000 people evacuated ahead of the storm in what wasa national record for the largest evacuation of a singlecounty in history.[23][24] The large number of refugeesfrom the storm put a strain on facilities, highways, andcontingencies. Although the number of people requiredto leave far exceeded the capacity of Pinellas Countyshelters,[20] only 120,000 of the 300,000 ormore refugeesmade use of the shelters.[24] Still, official shelter usagewas considered to be higher than average, possibly dueto shortened lead times limiting the ability of individu-als to make arrangements with friends and relatives, orincreased awareness of available resources. Post-stormphone surveys indicated that evacuation order compli-ance rates were as high as 90% in Pinellas County,[25]and the entire evacuation there took just 9 hours, ratherthan the expected 15.[24] With over 200,000 individualsrecorded to be in more than 120 shelters along the coastof west-central Florida, evacuees became restless as a re-sult of the duration of the storm. Supplies such as foodran short, and many people ignored orders and tried to re-turn home prematurely.[22] The threat of Hurricane Elenaalso triggered an unprecedented mass transfer of medicaland nursing home patients. Tampa General Hospital, at84% of patient capacity, was evacuated; four more hos-pitals and around 19 nursing homes in Pinellas Countywere also cleared. Overall, nearly 2,000 nursing homepatients were transported to safety. Although successful,the process encountered issues such as time constraintsand staffing shortages.[26]

4 3 IMPACT

Late on September 1, when the storm began to ret-rograde, hurricane warnings were reinstated westwardalong the coast to Grand Isle, Louisiana,[27] as advisoriesalong the west coast of the Florida Peninsula were allowedto expire. By the time officials lifted evacuation orders,the number of evacuees staying in shelters already de-creased significantly due to the rampant eagerness andanxiety.[28] Roughly 250,000 people in the Florida Pan-handle, 175,000 in Alabama, 70,000 in Mississippi, and50,000 in Louisiana—a total of 545,000—were orderedto leave.[29][30] Several hundred thousand of the peopleaffected by the new string of evacuation orders had alsobeen forced to leave just days earlier, and in extreme caseshad one day or less reprieve.[28] Governor Graham’s of-fice reported that during the entire storm event, 1.25 mil-lion people from Florida evacuated at some point,[31] andstate police in Louisiana estimated that figure in their stateto be around 400,000.[32] In total, nearly 2 million peoplefled the storm over its entire course.[33]

3 Impact

According to the Hurricane Research Division of theAtlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Labora-tory, Hurricane Elena produced Category 3 winds (111mph (179 km/h) or greater) in Florida, Alabama, andMississippi.[34] The American Red Cross reported thatin addition to the hundreds of single-family homes de-molished by the hurricane, over 17,000 sustained somedegree of damage; thousands of mobile homes, apart-ments, and condominiums were also damaged or de-stroyed. A forecaster at the National Hurricane Cen-ter determined the worst of the hurricane’s effectswere focused around Dauphin Island, Alabama, andPascagoula, Mississippi,[35] though noteworthy damageoccurred across large areas of Louisiana, Mississippi,Alabama, and Florida, with impacts documented as farwest as South Padre Island, Texas, and as far north asKentucky. Nine deaths were attributed to the hurricanein four states and on the waters of the Gulf of Mex-ico, and 134 people along Elena’s path were hospitalized,many of them due to storm-related stress.[36] Power out-ages plagued the entire region, affecting about 550,000customers.[37] The National Climatic Data Center com-piled a total monetary damage figure of $1.3 billion.[38]

In addition to its effects over land, Elena also had animpact on offshore interests. When a cargo ship closeto the hurricane’s center rolled in high seas on August29, two unsecured storage containers collided, crushing aman to death.[39] An oil platform operated by Exxon andanchored off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, was rippedfrom its moorings and reported missing on September 2.The oil rig drifted 14 mi (23 km) away before it was spot-ted by a Coast Guard aircraft. Exxon previously evacu-ated the platform after rough seas snapped the first twoof its eight anchoring cables.[40] Damage was reported on

four other offshore platforms,[41] and a 6 in (150 mm) oilpipeline broke during the hurricane at an estimated costof $1.6 million (the same pipeline broke two more timesduring the 1985 hurricane season).[42]

A large aspect of the hurricane’s devastation was thehavoc it wrought on the eastern Gulf of Mexico oysterindustry, particularly in the Apalachicola Bay area andoff the coast of Alabama.[43][44] Elena subjected theApalachicola Bay reefs to high winds, strong tidal ac-tion, and moderate to heavy rainfall, churning up hugequantities of silt and mud which suffocated up to 90%of live oysters and virtually destroyed the most importantharvesting sites.[43][45] Commercial harvesting was sus-pended until May 1986, at which time some of the promi-nent reefs of the eastern Apalachicola Bay system weredeemed able to sustain oyster-catching.[46] Low astro-nomical tides amplified the effects of severe turbulencein the water.[44] Thousands of individuals relying on theApalachicola Bay oyster industry soon found themselvesstruggling to make a living;[43] losses in production attwo major reefs were expected to surpass $30 million.[45]All of Alabama’s major reefs were affected by the hur-ricane, and its most productive was nearly destroyed.[42]The problem was later confounded in November by Hur-ricane Kate, which, according to the National HurricaneCenter, "[dealt] the final blow” to certain oyster beds.[47]

3.1 Florida

The storm began affecting Florida late on August 28and early on August 29. In Key West, on the east sideof Elena’s strengthening center, wind gusts exceeded 50mph (80 km/h), accompanied by 1.8 in (46 mm) of rainand higher-than-normal tides.[11] Several boats washedashore at Smathers Beach. Similarly adverse conditionsoccurred throughout rest of the Keys and across thesouthern Florida Peninsula; 60 mph (100 km/h) windgusts and modest rainfall stretched as far east as theMiami area.[48] Easterly winds produced significant waveheights of 5.2 ft (1.6 m) at West Palm Beach and 10.5ft (3.2 m) at Jacksonville, along the Atlantic coast ofFlorida, by August 31.[49]

Outer rainbands of the large hurricane produced squallyweather over parts of northern Florida as early as themorning of August 30. By then, the low-lying coastlinenear Apalachicola already began to flood.[50] Elena wouldcontinue to impact the state for several days as it mean-dered offshore, resulting in moderate to heavy rainfall.Upwards of 10 in (250 mm) accumulated in many lo-cations, peaking at 15.67 in (398 mm) near Cross Cityand reaching 11.31 in (287 mm) at Apalachicola. Farthersouth in the Tampa area, the precipitation was less signif-icant, exceeding 5 in (130 mm) at Clearwater. Parts ofthe state’s northeastern coast—farther away from the hur-ricane’s center—also saw formidable rainfall, with a lo-cal maximum of 10.57 in (268 mm) at Jacksonville.[5][11]Still, those totals represented a relatively dry storm, con-

3.1 Florida 5

Numerous coastal roads, such as this one along the Gulf Coastof Florida, were damaged by the hurricane’s storm surge.

sidering its long duration.[51] Despite initial hopes that thehurricane would help alleviate drought conditions acrossinterior portions of southern Florida, precipitation therewas generally inconsequential.[52]

Storm-heightened tides extended along the Florida coastas far south as Sarasota and generally ran a modest 3 to6 ft (0.91 to 1.83 m) above normal, though their dura-tion and extent proved noteworthy. The highest recordedstorm surge associated with the hurricane was 10 ft (3.0m) at Apalachicola.[7] The combination of raised wa-ter levels and strong waves resulted in severe erosionalong many beaches. Many homes near the water weredestroyed by the surge, and shoreline structures suchas docks, causeways, bridges, low-lying roads, and sea-walls sustained substantial damage.[27] Several large fish-ing piers were either partially or totally destroyed; no-tably, the city pier at Cedar Key and the popular 1,500 ft(460 m) Big Indian Rocks Fishing Pier were both demol-ished by the hurricane.[53][54] Debris from the Big IndianRocks Fishing Pier drifted northward toward ClearwaterPass and accumulated along private beaches at BelleairShore.[53]

The storm’s strongest winds remained largely over openwaters, although severe gusts still brushed coastal citiesand barrier islands.[55] The strongest winds were observedin two areas of the coast: from Cedar Key to Clear-water, and from Apalachicola to Pensacola.[55] Official

gust reports included 75 mph (121 km/h) at Cedar Keyand nearly 70 mph (110 km/h) at Clearwater; later, onSeptember 2, a gust of 90 mph (140 km/h) was observedat Pensacola along the Florida Panhandle, with sus-tained winds exceeding 50 mph (80 km/h).[7][11] Windsin Franklin County approached 125 mph (201 km/h) byunofficial estimates. The storm’s effects were not limitedto the shore, however, as fallen trees in the inland Talla-hassee area damaged around 50 vehicles.[27]

Map of Florida’s counties: click to enlarge

Though Hurricane Elena never crossed Florida’s coast,its drawn-out interaction with land agitated large swathsof the state’s western shore.[56] Winds along and aroundthe Pinellas County coast generally blew from the southor southwest for several days, creating persistent onshoreflow that built up heavy seas.[57] Near Clearwater, wavesreached 8.2 ft (2.5 m) in height, marked by a period of 13seconds on August 31.[49][58] One study determined thatthe storm removed an average of 10 cubic yards of coastalmaterial per linear foot of shoreline in Escambia County,Gulf, Franklin, and Pinellas counties, with values peakingat 15.6 cubic yards per foot.[56] Along the predominatelymarshy coasts of Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties,erosion and structural damage were much more limited,partly due to the local southerly or southeasterly winddirection.[59]

In some cases, the hurricane left quasi-permanent alter-ations on beaches and small islands. For example, NorthBunces Key—an island of southern Pinellas County—lost most of its vegetation to the storm, and overwash-ing shifted the southern part of the island up to 330 ft(100 m) from its original settlement. More extensivechanges were seen on and near Caladesi Island, whichformed in 1921 after a hurricane split a larger barrier is-land into two by a new channel. The inlet became dom-inant over Dunedin Pass to the south, which grew nar-rower very gradually until Elena rearranged the dynam-ics of the beach, allowing Dunedin Pass to fill completely

6 3 IMPACT

with sand within a couple years of the hurricane’s pas-sage. As a result, Clearwater Beach became connected toCaladesi Island.[60] Elena also created a new inlet knownas Willy’s Cut, which existed until 1991.[61] Interest inartificially reopening Dunedin Pass prompted an officialstudy in 1994 on the engineering and financial merits ofsuch a project. Due to the high cost of dredging and thelikelihood of nearly continuous maintenance, no actionwas taken.[62]

Example of a beachfront structure destroyed by the hurricane inFlorida

The hurricane tore two barges from their moorings inTampa Bay and blew them into Gandy Bridge,[27] leav-ing the bridge with unspecified damage.[63] Through-out the area, rising waters inundated streets, washedboats ashore, and destroyed numerous homes along thecoast.[64] At low-lying Cedar Key to the north, stormsurge exceeded 9 ft (2.7 m).[27] There, and at AlligatorPoint to the northwest, the surge values represented returnperiods of 25 to 30 years; elsewhere, they were equivalentto about 10-year events.[65] Floodwaters in Cedar Keyrose to 8 ft (2.4 m) in depth, with 2 ft (0.61 m) wavesatop the standing water. The extent of structural dam-age was largely dependent on construction type, as newer,elevated buildings fared much better than older struc-tures nearer sea level. Waterfront restaurants were espe-cially susceptible; winds blew out several large sliding-glass doors at one establishment, allowing both the windsand the tide to enter its interior.[49] Elena severed the solebridge to Cedar Key, temporarily isolating the city andstranding several residents. The Florida Department ofTransportation hurriedly worked to make the bridge pass-able long enough to rescue the stranded individuals.[66]The hurricane compromised several other roads, destroy-ing a 75 ft (23 m) section of State Road 24. Mon-etary losses in Cedar Key alone were estimated at $2million,[67] and all major aspects of local infrastructurewere severely affected, initially preventing residents fromreturning home to the island.[68] At least 34 homes andbusinesses on the island were damaged or destroyed.[69]

Pinellas County suffered some of the worst damage fromHurricane Elena in Florida.[55] At the height of the storm,over 500,000 of its residents were without electricity.[21]Forty-four single-family homes were destroyed, 31 more

were damaged, and several condominiums, townhouses,and commercial buildings were damaged or destroyed.The hurricane also wrecked or irreparably compromisednearly 2.7 mi (4.3 km) of coastal bulkheads and inflictedminor damage on 2.15mi (3.46 km)more.[70]Most of theaffected seawalls were degrading or poorly reinforced.[71]Seawalls with higher standards of construction gener-ally remained intact, though even in those cases, over-wash from the Gulf of Mexico topped the barriers anddeposited large volumes of sand.[72] The hurricane costroughly $100 million in Pinellas County.[24]

The storm washed maritime debris, such as small vessels andparts of docks, over land.

Elena’s track parallel to the Florida Panhandle subjectedthe coastline between Apalachicola and Pensacola Beachto particularly severe conditions that resulted in “signifi-cant” property damage there.[73] In Apalachicola proper,winds tore large roofs off buildings,[74] and data fromFlorida’s Department of Natural Resources indicate that20 residences and one community building in FranklinCounty were damaged or destroyed.[75] Structural fail-ure was prevalent along the county’s waterfront and onislands such as Dog Island; however, it was mainly lim-ited to poorly constructed buildings.[72] Several miles ofroadways in the county sustained significant damage, andabout 1⁄2 mile (800 m) of bulkhead was destroyed.[75]Low seawalls allowed crucial points of the causeway toSt. George Island to erode, causing it to fail.[72] In Es-cambia County, the hurricane left $2 million in damages.Throughout much of the remainder of the Florida Pan-handle, structural damage was limited, though 100,000people in the Pensacola area lost power.[76] The configu-ration of the southern tip of Cape San Blas inGulf Countywas changed by the storm.[77] The hurricane wiped outeagle nests, generated freshwater fish kills, and impactedother species of wildlife at the St. Vincent and St. MarksNational Wildlife Refuges.[56] St. George Island andHoneymoon Island State Parks were heavily impacted,with appreciable but lesser damage in numerous otherprotected areas.[78] U.S. Route 98, which closely followsthe coast in this region, required extensive repairs afterbeing undermined in nearly two dozen locations.[79]

When tropical cyclones move over land, they often pro-duce the wind shear and atmospheric instability required

3.2 Alabama 7

for the development of weak, embedded supercell thun-derstorms, which can produce tornadoes. These tor-nadoes are usually weak and short-lived, but still capa-ble of producing significant damage.[80] While centeredover the Gulf of Mexico, the eastern side of HurricaneElena’s circulation spawned several such tornadoes overcentral Florida.[9] A tornado struck just east of Leesburgon September 1, destroying 64 single-family houses andmobile homes, and damaging another 118; seven peoplewere treated for non-life-threatening injuries.[81] Laterthat same day, another tornado touched down over down-town Leesburg, with much less damage.[82] In nearbyMarion County, tornadic activity destroyed six mobilehomes, compromised another 50 residences, and inflictedas much as $500,000 in total losses, though only mi-nor injuries were reported.[83] At Kennedy Space CenterLaunch Complex 39 in Cape Canaveral, a weak tornadostruck two vehicles near the location where Space ShuttleAtlantis was being prepared for its first flight.[84] A tor-nado in New Port Richey tore parts of the roof off at leastone building and brought down trees,[68] and tornadic ac-tivity was also identified in Sumter County.[84]

The hurricane took one life in the state and indirectlycontributed to two additional deaths. In Daytona Beach,a tree struck a parked vehicle, killing a person inside.The exact cause of the tree’s uprooting was unknown, al-though it may have been hit by lightning or a short-livedtornado.[85] Elsewhere, two individuals died of heart at-tacks: one while installing storm shutters on his home,and another at a designated shelter.[32]

3.2 Alabama

Satellite view of the hurricane’s core on September 1, while trav-eling westward

The center of Elena passed 30 mi (50 km) south of main-land Alabama as it accelerated toward the Gulf Coast,impacting the state’s two-county coast and offshore is-lands. Wind gusts at Dauphin Island, situatedmuch closerto the hurricane’s eye, were estimated to have reached130 mph (210 km/h); these velocities represented someof the highest experienced on land from the storm,[11]

and were strong enough to snap hundreds of large pinetrees.[86] Dauphin Island received an 8.4 ft (2.6 m) stormsurge that resulted in substantial flooding and areas of to-tal overwash.[86][87] Rainfall amounted to just 3 in (76mm) on the island.[11]

With its location close to the storm’s center, DauphinIsland saw the greatest damage in Alabama. Accessto the island was shut down during and immediatelyafter the hurricane, slowing the progression of dam-age assessments.[88] Additionally, the storm cut powerand phone services.[86] Post-storm surveys revealed dis-cernible patterns in structural damage on the island;these included a nearly complete lack of destruction onthe heavily wooded eastern end, and damage concen-trated closer to the western side and along areas ex-posed to strong easterly winds.[89] First-hand accounts re-layed that in the most severe cases, entire elevated homeswere torn from their pilings and swept into the Gulf ofMexico.[90] The number of homes demolished in thatmanner was informally placed at 50,[91] though such to-tal building collapses were typically confined to poorlysecured buildings.[89] In total, the hurricane destroyed190 residences on Dauphin Island, accounting for nearly25% of all homes, and a further 235 sustained substantialdamage.[91] An unofficial and early estimate of losses onthe island was $30 million.[86]

Windspeeds were markedly lower over mainlandAlabama;[92] Mobile recorded winds of over 50 mph (80km/h),[11] with gusts as high as 84 mph (135 km/h).[87]The storm’s angle of approach created strong offshorewinds along the mainland, which depressed water levelsand limited the extent of positive surge once windsshifted to onshore.[93] Winds from the hurricane tooka toll on crops, ruining 8,000,000 lb (3,600,000 kg) ofpecans and reducing soybean production by 10%. Farmswere still in the process of recovering from HurricaneFrederic in 1979 when Elena struck.[87]

Wave action took a toll on the foundations of water-front structures along the coasts of Baldwin and Mobilecounties,[92] where Elena inflicted about $715,000 worthof damage to roadways.[94] Most damage was concen-trated near the shore, where extensive erosion tookplace, and on islands and minor peninsulas. Farther in-land, Elena’s impact was generally limited to downedtrees and power lines.[87] The storm destroyed the cityboardwalk at Gulf Shores, with the cost of rebuildingexpected to approach $300,000. Alabama Power re-ported extensive power outages affecting up to 100,000customers.[86][88] According to the Insurance Informa-tion Institute, storm-related damages in Alabama totaledabout $100 million.[95] An estimated 300 homes in thestate were destroyed by Hurricane Elena, and another1,345 sustained lighter damage.[87]

8 3 IMPACT

3.3 Mississippi

Along the coast of Mississippi, where Elena made land-fall, the most significant effects of the storm stemmedfrom its strong winds gusting to over 120 mph (190km/h). Recorded gusts included 121 mph (195 km/h)at Gulfport, 115 mph (185 km/h) at Pascagoula, and 90mph (140 km/h) at Biloxi.[7][96] Several other weatherstations clocked sustained winds at over 90 mph (140km/h).[11] Consistent with the storm’s dry nature, rain-fall in the state was mainly light and confined to southernand western areas.[5] Gulfport picked up more than 4.5in (110 mm),[97] while just over 3 in (75 mm) of rainfell at Natchez.[11] Some streets in Gulfport and Biloxiflooded at the height of the storm.[97] The highest tides ran6 to 8 ft (1.8 to 2.4 m) above normal along the coast,[51]reaching 7.9 ft (2.4 m) above average at Pascagoula andOcean Springs.[11] As with Alabama, negative surge val-ues were recorded at the storm’s onset. The tide gauge atGulfport recorded a water level of 5.6 ft (1.7 m) belowaverage early on September 2, before quickly swellingto 5.43 ft (1.66 m) above normal.[93] Air pressure re-portedly fell so rapidly at Pascagoula ahead of the hur-ricane’s approaching center that car windows began toshatter.[84] The barometer there bottomed out at 953 mb,the lowest recorded pressure on land in association withthe cyclone.[9]

Elena’s storm total rainfall in the United States

The worst of the damage occurred along a 40 mi (64km) stretch of coastline, particularly in the Pascagoulaarea and surrounding towns.[97] Elena’s winds damagedmost of the schools in Jackson County, and more specif-ically, every school in Pascagoula was structurally im-paired to some degree. Damages to schools in OceanSprings totaled $3 million;[98] in the same city, the over-all conditions following the hurricane were describedas worse than those in the prior hurricanes Frederic orCamille. Elena destroyed 20 houses and two supermar-kets in Ocean Springs, and several buildings on each cityblock sustained severe roof damage due to fallen trees.

Two shopping centers were destroyed in nearby Gautier,possibly by short-lived tornadoes. A fire captain in Gau-tier remarked immediately after the storm that he had notyet seen an unharmed building in the city. The commu-nity became essentially isolated from the outside world,and quickly began to run short of food, clean water, andgasoline supplies.[99] Initial reports from Pascagoula alsoindicated that most, or all, of that city’s buildings weredamaged.[100] Nearly every business in the city was dam-aged to the extent that none were able to operate bythe time the storm cleared.[35] A post-storm assessmentby the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency re-vealed over 900 businesses in Jackson County sustaineddamage, contributing to a total of nearly 1,500 in thestate’s three coastal counties.[101]

Harrison and Hancock counties were generally not im-pacted quite as severely as areas closer to the Alabamaborder, but the entire area still suffered extensively. Insections of Gulfport, large fires were sparked by downedpower lines and fed by broken natural gas pipes. De-bris on roadways prevented firefighters from reaching thefires, thereby allowing them to spread. Similar destruc-tion was seen to the east at Biloxi, where the hurricane’swinds tore the roofs offmany buildings. Beachfront com-munities were in a state of disarray, with large trees up-rooted, debris littering the ground, and accumulationsof sand on parts of roads like U.S. 90.[97] Damage toschools in Harrison County—particularly in Gulfport andBiloxi—was extensive.[102] Most homes in the area sur-vived the storm, which was locally estimated to have beena once-in-50-year event, with relatively little damage.Several buildings along the coast in the Biloxi area sus-tained severe damage, but many of the older houses nearthe Gulf of Mexico there fared remarkably well.[97][103]Winds brought down large highway signs, in some casescausing damage to nearby buildings.[104] Along the coast,Elena caused beach erosion, damaged coastal structuresand recreational beach facilities,[105] and dislocated nav-igational buoys and markers in various ports, several ofwhich were closed pending Coast Guard inspection.[106]Winds over inland Pearl River County damaged 350 per-manent and mobile homes, and as in Alabama, the hur-ricane took a large toll on pecan and soybean crops andfarms.[107]

There were numerous reports in southern Mississippiof embedded tornadoes that exacerbated the hurri-cane’s effects.[36] Reports in Gulfport indicated that threeschools actively being used as hurricane shelters werestruck and damaged by tornadoes. At one location, al-most 400 people being housed in a school had to rush tosafety before part of the structure’s roof collapsed. An-other apparent tornado sideswiped a senior citizens’ cen-ter, endangering nearly 200 people in a structure that sus-tained damage to windows, doors, and part of its roof;about 20 people required rescue by paramedics. Onlyminor injuries occurred in association with the possibletornadoes.[97][108] Teams of experts tasked with review-

3.4 Louisiana 9

ing the validity of tornado reports were scarcely able touncover sufficient evidence that much of the damage insouthern Mississippi had been done by tornadoes. As aresult, few of the events were confirmed to have beentornadoes,[9] and it was considered likely that most ofthe damage in the region was the result of squall-likewinds that are part of an intense hurricane’s nature, orpotentially localized microbursts.[36][107] This conclusionwas not definitive, however; indeed, a city official inBiloxi remarked that in situations as extreme as Elena’sonslaught, “when you can't even see your hand in frontof you, it’s very hard to tell if it’s a tornado or thehurricane”.[100] Any unconfirmed tornadoes would havepossessed winds equal to or weaker than the hurricane’ssynoptic winds.[107]

Satellite image of Elena making landfall on September 2

The storm left 80,000 customers under the jurisdictionof the Mississippi Power Company without power; mostof Jackson County’s 126,000 residents were affectedby the outage.[101][109] Operations at Ingalls Shipbuild-ing in Pascagoula were halted due to the power out-age and widespread damage to the shipyard’s buildingsand cranes;[109] at least two other shipyards in the statewere compromised by the hurricane.[110] Additionally,the storm forced the temporary closure of the ChevronUSA refinery at Pascagoula.[106] Facilities at Horn Is-land in the Gulf Islands National Seashore, BuccaneerState Park, and the Mississippi Sandhill Crane NationalWildlife Refuge required repairs following the storm; atthe latter, damages included the cost of healing a Floridasandhill crane's injured leg. Thirty seafood plants wereimpaired, and another was destroyed.[110] The Red Crossestimated that 200 single-family houses in the state weredestroyed, and some 13,200 were damaged, 1,200 ofthem heavily. Additionally, the hurricane demolished390 mobile homes and damaged another 2,290.[111] Theoverall cost of damage in Mississippi alone approached$1 billion.[107]

3.4 Louisiana

After moving inland, the storm’s northwestward trackbrought it over the Louisiana border on two separateoccasions,[5] first reaching Washington Parish as a min-imal hurricane. Winds there were strong enough tobring down hundreds of trees, damaging houses andknocking out power to over 15,000 customers in theprocess.[112][113][114] The hurricane also overturned mo-bile homes and strewn debris throughout communitiessuch as Bogalusa and Franklinton in Washington Parish,the hardest-hit area in the state.[31] Downed trees causeddamage to 200 homes and another 200 businesses, chieflynear Bogalusa.[112]

Winds across the rest of the state were moderate, gustingto around 50 mph (80 km/h) at Slidell on the northeast-ern shore of Lake Pontchartrain,[11] so damage outsideof Washington Parish was sporadic.[112] Throughout thestate, at least 40,000 electric customers lost power.[100]Located southwest of the storm’s core, New Orleans es-caped with little damage and relatively benign weatherconditions; still, the hurricane triggered minor flood-ing and brought down tree limbs around the city. Lev-ees along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain were ableto contain the lake’s large waves, despite initial fears tothe contrary.[30][31] Still, the adverse conditions forcedthe temporary closure of the Lake Pontchartrain Cause-way.[115] The storm led to the deaths of two individu-als in the state: one due to a drowning in St. TammanyParish and another in a traffic accident attributed to theweather.[31] Insured and uninsured damages were worthnear $17 million combined, with an additional $500,000in agricultural losses.[112]

Elena subjected the Chandeleur Islands to a 6.5 ft (2.0 m)or greater storm surge. The island chain is an importantbuffer to parts of mainland Louisiana against storms, butis frequently reshaped or shrunken by intense hurricanes.Hurricane Danny and Hurricane Juan also impacted theislands in 1985. Elena eroded away at least 20% andpossibly up to 40% of the Chandeleur Islands’ total landmass and cut 30 significant channels into the island chain.Parts of the islands left intact suffered extensive loss ofvegetation.[112][116][117] The hurricane, along with Dannyand Juan, also impacted several other barrier islands, andElena itself removed as much as 112 ft (34 m) of beachalong the island of Grand Isle.[118]

3.5 Elsewhere

Precipitation from Hurricane Elena reached into south-ern Georgia and parts of South Carolina,[5] with little im-pact aside from meager drought relief.[119] For severaldays after landfall, the weakening tropical cyclone pro-duced moderate to heavy rainfall across portions of cen-tral and northern Arkansas. Rainfall totals were generally2 to 4 in (51 to 102 mm), with locally higher amounts;Mountain Home, Arkansas received 8.95 in (227 mm) of

10 4 AFTERMATH

rain,[11][120] including 6.6 in (170 mm) in just three hourson September 4.[121] Clinton to the south recorded 8.6 in(220 mm). At the state capital of Little Rock, under 3in (76 mm) of liquid fell.[11][120] Listed by the NationalWeather Service among “some of the most significanttropical cyclones to affect Arkansas”, the remnants ofElena triggered flash flooding in parts of four counties; 2ft (0.61 m) of standing water submerged streets in down-town Hot Springs.[120] In Mountain Home, floodwatersforced 10 families to evacuate their homes, and one per-son died after a swollen creek swept her car off a bridgespanning it.[121]

Significant rainfall also occurred over parts of westernKentucky, with lighter precipitation in several adjacentstates.[5] Over 8 in (200 mm) fell at Paducah, where ur-ban streets and low-lying terrain experienced freshwaterflooding Floodwaters 4 ft (1.2 m) deep submerged carsto their windows and infiltrated 40 homes, several busi-nesses, a hotel, and a high school.[122][123] Localized evac-uations and road closures were required, and a personwading in an active creek had to be rescued after the creekswept him downstream. Around 10,000 customers lostelectric service for a short period due to the storm. Shel-ters were opened to those displaced by the flooding, butscarcely used.[123]

Early in its formative stages, Elena triggered rainshow-ers and thunderstorms over parts of Cuba, The Bahamas,and Hispaniola.[124] Later, the mature hurricane gener-ated strong rip currents as far away as South Padre Island,Texas, where two swimmers drowned in separate inci-dents over the Labor Day weekend. Both victims weremale Texas residents.[99][125]

4 Aftermath

Hurricane Elena has a multifaceted legacy; it is re-membered not only for its severe impacts, but also forits unpredictability and the wide extent of pre-stormpreparations.[39] Due to its notoriety, the name Elena wasretired from the cyclical list of Atlantic hurricane namesin the spring of 1986. Consequently, it will never againbe used for an Atlantic hurricane.[126] The name was re-placed by Erika, which was first used during the 1991season.[3]

4.1 Florida

The state of Florida received a federal Major DisasterDeclaration on September 12.[127] Franklin, Levy, Mana-tee, and Pinellas counties—where the storm left 5,000 in-dividuals without work—became eligible for federal aidafter President Ronald Reagan visited the state and de-termined that residents in those areas would benefit fromassistance such as temporary housing, low-interest loansfor rebuilding efforts, and monetary grants.[69] Disaster

Thousands of families required temporary housing after theirhomes were rendered unlivable.

centers were opened in those four counties as central-ized locations for federal, state, and volunteer agenciesto operate relief programs.[128] President Reagan later in-cluded Hillsborough, Wakulla, and Dixie counties, bring-ing the total number of Florida counties eligible for fed-eral aid to seven. The deadline for residents of all sevencounties to apply for either state or federal assistance wasset for November 12.[129] Several major corporations—including Texaco, Exxon, and J.C. Penney—contactedcustomers in the affected areas and offered to make spe-cial arrangements for their monthly payments if they hadbeen financially impacted by the storm. While only asmall number of customers took advantage of the assis-tance, the companies’ actions were met with highly posi-tive feedback.[130]

In the days following the storm, residents of Cedar Keywere forbidden from returning to their homes and busi-nesses while washed-out roadways underwent repairs anddebris was cleared. Portable toilets were delivered andclean water trucked in for use while the city’s infrastruc-ture was being stabilized.[131] After the city of CedarKey dropped its participation in the National Flood In-surance Program in early 1984, leaving residents unableto purchase flood insurance for their property, the citycouncil voted unanimously to return to the program afterHurricane Elena.[69] Tourism decreased significantly insome areas due to prospective travelers’ concerns aboutthe extent of the damage. The hurricane created a 13%drop in visitors between October 1984 and October 1985in Pinellas County, marking an early end to the annual“tourist season”, which generally ends after Labor Dayweekend; tourist spending fell accordingly.[132]

After the storm, residents were allowed to return to theirneighborhoods on a by-town basis. Once authorized toenter their communities, many individuals inadvertentlygained access to other municipalities in the area that werenot ready for the return of civilians. In turn, dangeroussituations arose amid preliminary cleanup operations. InPinellas County, laws were proposed to unify the mu-nicipal decisions to accept residents after future disas-ters. As part of the proposed laws, the county sheriff,

11

as opposed to local officials, would become responsiblefor allowing cities to reopen.[133] Despite extensive resis-tance, county commissioners approved the change, givingthe sitting sheriff power to override municipal evacuationorders.[134] An additional ordinance was proposed to al-low banning of alcohol sales during emergencies. DuringHurricane Elena, intoxicated individuals created disorderat shelters and impeded evacuations by refusing to leavehurricane parties.[133][134]

To help the Apalachicola Bay shellfish industry recover,special regulations were put in place to monitor harvests,and $2 million was designated toward rehabilitation ef-forts. Using a portion of the funds, out-of-work oystercatchers were employed to repopulate crucial reefs.[44]The state of Florida also issued a grant to help indi-viduals in the crippled seafood industry make necessarypayments.[135] Efforts to help newly unemployed individ-uals in the shellfish industry continued in the months fol-lowing the storm; local Tallahassee musicians organizeda benefit concert in January 1986 to raise money for fam-ilies of oystermen in Franklin County.[136]

On September 1 and 2, Florida Power Company re-ceived help fromGulf Coast companies to return power to170,000 customers before the assisting companies’ homeareas were struck by the hurricane. Power was restoredto most areas by September 4, with an exception beingSt. George’s Island; service was expected to be restoredafter several additional days.[37] More broadly, owners ofheavily damaged homes in the state faced new regulationson coastal construction in the state, which went into effectless than a month after the storm. The new rules entailedmore rigorous study of factors such as a property’s priorhistory and surrounding buildings before approval to re-build a demolished structure would be granted. Gover-nor Graham preliminarily advised that houses more thanhalfway destroyed not be rebuilt.[137] Recovery efforts af-ter Hurricane Elena continued to a small degree for yearsafter its passage; for example, beach replenishment atIndian Rocks Beach in Pinellas County began in the sum-mer of 1990.[138]

4.2 Central Gulf Coast

Power companies from several states sent workers tohelp restore service to the hardest-hit areas of the GulfCoast.[40] Most of Alabama Power’s affected customershad power within 24 hours of the storm, though restora-tion of service to Dauphin Island took significantlylonger. Power was fully restored to Central LouisianaElectric customers by September 4.[37] Alabama’s twocoastal counties were declared federal disaster areas onSeptember 7.[139][140] Special loan assistance was madeavailable by the Small Business Administration and theFarmers HomeAdministration, the latter of which soughtto help commercial growers who lost their crops to thestorm.[140]

Mississippi Governor William Allain sent 500 mem-bers of the National Guard to partner with 200 lawenforcement officers along Mississippi’s coast in mini-mizing crime, and nighttime curfews were establishedin several cities.[40] On September 4, President Reagandeclared Mississippi’s coastal counties a Major Disas-ter area.[141][142] The Federal Emergency ManagementAgency estimated that as many as 3,000 homes in thestate were uninhabitable, their occupants forced to findtemporary living arrangements. The Small Business Ad-ministration approved special loans up to $500,000 forowners of damaged businesses.[142] Mississippi PowerCompany’s system was the hardest-hit,[37] and restorationof service was slow; 50,000 of 80,000 customers werestill without electricity by September 5.[101]

By September 5, the Salvation Army, Red Cross, andother organizations had served 100,000 meals to thosedisplaced by the hurricane in Mississippi, and federalfood stocks became available for the state to distributeto storm victims.[143] Still, resources such as food and icestarted to run short in the hardest-hit locations, and longlines formed at the first few stores and gas stations to re-open. With dwindling supplies, the Salvation Army hadto procure food from other parts of the region to serve tovictims.[101] In the days after the hurricane, an increasein heart attack deaths in the Harrison County area wasnoted.[143]

5 See also

• List of United States hurricanes

• List of Florida hurricanes (1975–1999)

• List of retired Atlantic hurricane names

• History of tropical cyclone-spawned tornadoes

6 Notes[1] Monetary figures in 1985 USD, unless otherwise noted.

[2] National Hurricane Center (1985). “Hurricane Elena Pre-liminary Report Page 1”. National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration. Retrieved February 2, 2013.

[3] Hurricane Research Division (2012). “Easy to ReadHURDAT Best Track 2012”. National Hurricane Center.Retrieved February 2, 2013.

[4] Christopher S. Velden (March 1987). “SatelliteObservations of Hurricane Elena (1985) Us-ing the VAS 6.7-μm “Water-Vapor” Channel”.Monthly Weather Review (National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration) 68 (3): 212–214.Bibcode:1987BAMS...68..210V. doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1987)068<0210:SOOHEU>2.0.CO;2.

12 6 NOTES

[5] David M. Roth. “Hurricane Elena - August 28 – Septem-ber 6, 1985”. Weather Prediction Center. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2013.

[6] Barnes, p. 252

[7] National Hurricane Center (1985). “Hurricane Elena Pre-liminary Report Page 2”. National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration. Retrieved February 2, 2013.

[8] Kristen L. Corbosiero, et. al (November 2006). “TheStructure and Evolution of Hurricane Elena (1985).Part II: Convective Asymmetries and Evidence for Vor-tex Rossby Waves”. Monthly Weather Review (Na-tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) 134(11): 3073–3091. Bibcode:2006MWRv..134.3073C.doi:10.1175/MWR3250.1.

[9] Sparks, p. 17

[10] National Hurricane Center (1985). “Hurricane Elena Pre-liminary Report Page 4”. National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration. Retrieved February 4, 2013.

[11] Robert A. Case (July 1986). “Atlantic Hur-ricane Season of 1985” (PDF). MonthlyWeather Review (National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration) 114 (7): 1395–1397.Bibcode:1986MWRv..114.1390C. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1986)114<1390:AHSO>2.0.CO;2. RetrievedFebruary 4, 2013.

[12] Associated Press (August 30, 1985). “Gulf counties de-clare emergencies as Elena rumbles toward U.S. coast”.The Deseret News. Retrieved February 5, 2013.

[13] Sparks, p. 29

[14] Associated Press (August 30, 1985). “Hurricane Elenais poised to hit Florida’s coast”. The Montreal Gazette.Retrieved February 5, 2013.

[15] Sentinel Wire Services (August 30, 1985). “HurricaneElena gathers force as residents flee Gulf Coast”. The Mil-waukee Sentinel. Retrieved February 5, 2013.

[16] Associated Press (August 30, 1985). “Hurricanes routineto N. Orleans area folk”. The Miami News. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2013.

[17] Associated Press (August 30, 1985). “Thousands flee be-fore hurricane”. The Calgary Herald. Retrieved February5, 2013.

[18] Associated Press (August 30, 1985). “Florida braces forElena’s attack as hurricane gathers force in gulf”. TheMontreal Gazette. Retrieved February 5, 2013.

[19] Sparks, p. 30

[20] Associated Press (August 31, 1985). “573,000 flee as hur-ricane aims at Florida”. The Pittsburgh Press. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2013.

[21] Associated Press (September 1, 1985). “Stalled Elenastill thrashes Florida coast”. The Spokesman-Review. Re-trieved February 5, 2013.

[22] Associated Press (September 2, 1985). “Hurricane ElenaChanges Course, Picks Up Devastating Strength”. HarlanDaily Enterprise. Retrieved February 5, 2013.

[23] Christi Harlan and David Hanners (September 1, 1985).“Elena Sends Rain, Twister to Florida”. The Dallas Morn-ing News. Retrieved February 5, 2013.

[24] Jane Meinhardt (September 13, 1985). “Evacuation im-pact was far-reaching”. The Evening Independent. Re-trieved March 18, 2013.

[25] Sparks, p. 36

[26] Wiley P. Mangum; Kosberg, JI; McDonald, P (1989).“Hurricane Elena and Pinellas County, Florida: SomeLessons Learned from the Largest Evacuation of NursingHome Patients in History”. Gerontologist 29 (3): 388–392. doi:10.1093/geront/29.3.388. PMID 2759460. Re-trieved February 5, 2013.

[27] Barnes, p. 253

[28] LloydDunkelberger (September 2, 1985). “Many orderedto evacuate for 2nd time”. Lakeland Ledger. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2013.

[29] Ed Birk (September 2, 1985). “4 States Evacuate Res-idents 2nd Time”. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Re-trieved February 5, 2013.

[30] Dan Even (September 2, 1985). “Hurricane strikes hard atMississippi”. Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved March20, 2013.

[31] Storer Rowley and Michael Hirsley (September 3, 1985).“Hurricane Thrashes Gulf States”. The Chicago Tribune.Retrieved March 20, 2013.

[32] Associated Press (September 2, 1985). “Elena roarsashore”. The Spokane Chronicle. Retrieved March 18,2013.

[33] Bruce Nichols and David Hanners (September 3, 1985).“Elena finally howls ashore”. The Lakeland Ledger. Re-trieved April 12, 2013.

[34] Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory(February 2013). “Chronological List of All ContinentalUnited States Hurricanes: 1851–2012”. National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 29,2013.

[35] Dan Even (September 2, 1985). “Officials Begin Assess-ing Damages Left By Elena”. The Harlan Daily Enter-prise. Retrieved April 4, 2013.

[36] National Hurricane Center (1985). “Hurricane Elena Pre-liminary Report Page 3”. National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration. Retrieved April 4, 2013.

[37] “Southern Co. Hardest Hit in Hurricane as 550,000 onGulf Coast Lose Power”. September 9, 1985 – via Lexis-Nexis.

[38] National Climatic Data Center. “Billion Dollar U.S.Weather/Climate Disasters, 1980–October 2011”. Na-tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Re-trieved April 6, 2013.

13

[39] Barnes, p. 255

[40] Associated Press and United Press International (Septem-ber 3, 1985). “Gulf states add up the damage”. The Mil-waukee Journal. Retrieved April 6, 2013.

[41] Minerals Management Service, p. D-16

[42] Mineral Management Service, p. D-10

[43] Jon Nordheimer (October 6, 1985). “Hurricane Elenaleaves Apalachicola Bay oyster industry devastated”. TheLakeland Ledger. Retrieved April 6, 2013.

[44] Mark E. Berrigan (March 1987). “Management of Oys-ter Resources in Apalachicola Bay Following HurricaneElena” (PDF). Journal of Shellfish Research 7 (2): 281–288. Retrieved April 6, 2013.

[45] Mineral Management Service, p. D-20

[46] Robert J. Livingston (2010). Trophic Organization inCoastal Systems. CRCPress. p. 251. ISBN 1-4200-4085-5. Retrieved April 8, 2013.

[47] National Hurricane Center (December 10, 1985).“Hurricane Kate Preliminary Report Page 4”. NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration. RetrievedMay 29, 2013.

[48] Keith B. Richburg and Thomas O'Toole (August 31,1985). “Hurricane Elena Brushes Gulf Coast at 110 mph;318,000 in Florida Ordered Evacuated”. The WashingtonPost. – via LexisNexis (subscription required)

[49] Bodge, p. 6

[50] Jane Meinhardt (August 30, 1985). “Elena gainingstrength in Gulf near Pensacola”. The Evening Indepen-dent. Retrieved February 5, 2013.

[51] Sparks, p. 16

[52] John Mulliken (September 4, 1985). “Hurricane Did Lit-tle To Combat South Florida Water Shortage”. SouthFlorida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved March 14, 2013.

[53] Ralph R. Clark (May 2010). “Fishing Pier Design Guid-ance, Part 1: Historical Pier Damage in Florida” (PDF).Florida Department of Environmental Protection. pp. 9–11. Retrieved March 14, 2013.

[54] Wayne Ayers (July 2010). “Indian Rocks Beach’s Piers... A Prime Attraction” (PDF). Indian Rocks HistoricalSociety. p. 1. Retrieved March 14, 2013.

[55] Bodge, p. 12

[56] Jerry Brashier, Susan B. Gaudry, Johnnie W. Tarver (Oc-tober 1986). “Synopsis of Impacts from the 1985 Gulf ofMexico Hurricanes” (PDF). The Coastal Society. p. 3.Retrieved March 14, 2013.

[57] Robert A. Davis, Jr. and Margaret Andronaco. “Impactof Hurricanes on Pinellas County, Florida 1985” (PDF).National Sea Grant Library/Florida Sea Grant College. p.9. Retrieved March 16, 2013.

[58] Bodge, p. 18

[59] Albert C. Hine and Mark W. Evans. “Effects of Hurri-cane Elena on Florida’s Marsh-Dominanted Coast: Pasco,Hernando, and Citrus Counties”. National Sea Grant Li-brary/Florida Sea Grant College. p. ii (Abstract). Re-trieved March 16, 2013.

[60] Richard A. Davis, Jr. and Albert C. Hine (1989).Quaternary Geology and Sediment of the Barrier Islandand Marshy Coast, West-Central Florida, U.S.A. Ameri-can Geophysical Union. p. 13. ISBN 0-87590-576-5.

[61] David K. Camp (2011). Gulf of Mexico Origin, Waters,and Biota: Volume 3, Geology. Texas A&M UniversityPress. p. 95. ISBN 1-60344-290-1.

[62] “Dunedin Pass Coastal Management History” (PDF).Pinellas County, Florida. Retrieved March 15, 2013.

[63] Mike Deeson (September 3, 2010). “Hurricane Elena 25years ago this weekend”. WTSP. Retrieved March 16,2013.

[64] Associated Press (September 2, 1985). “Worst in Tampaarea came from flooding”. The Miami News. RetrievedMarch 16, 2013.

[65] Bodge, p. 2

[66] Ed Birk (September 1, 1985). “Cedar Key Flooded, Iso-lated by Elena”. Associated Press. Retrieved March 4,2013.

[67] Kevin M. McCarthy (2007). Cedar Key Florida, A His-tory. The History Press. p. 112. ISBN 1-59629-310-1.

[68] Mark Zaloudek (September 2, 1985). “Graham: Fla.Damage Worse Than Expected”. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved March 18, 2013.

[69] Associated Press (September 13, 1985). “4 Counties El-igible for Federal Disaster Aid”. The Palm Beach Post.Retrieved April 8, 2013.

[70] Bodge, p. 13

[71] Bodge, p. 7

[72] Bodge, p. 8

[73] Federal Emergency Management Agency (December 19,2006). Flood insurance study number 12113CV000A(PDF) (Report). Santa Rosa County, Florida. p. 9. Re-trieved April 6, 2013.

[74] Charlie Jean (September 2, 1985). “Elena Lashes Out AtPanhandle”. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 16,2013.

[75] Bodge, p. 15

[76] Ed Birk (September 2, 1985). “Domestic News”. Asso-ciated Press – via LexisNexis.

[77] Ralph R. Clark and James LaGrone. “A ComparativeAnalysis of Hurricane Dennis and Other Recent Hur-ricanes on Coastal Communities of Northwest Florida”(PDF). Florida Shore And Beach Preservation Associa-tion. pp. 14–15. Retrieved March 16, 2014.

14 6 NOTES

[78] Minerals Management Service, p. D-21

[79] Associated Press (December 1, 1985). “Florida StudiesPlan to Relocate Coastal Highways”. The Ocala Star-Banner. Retrieved April 10, 2013.

[80] “Hurricanes and Tornadoes”. Central Pacific HurricaneCenter. Retrieved March 18, 2013.

[81] Wesley Loy (September 2, 1985). “Lake County Resi-dents Try To Salvage What Twister Smashed”. The Or-lando Sentinel. Retrieved March 18, 2013.

[82] Wesley Loy (September 1, 1985). “Tornadoes SmashDozens Of Homes: Storm Spinoffs Touch Down In Lees-burg, Ocala Areas”. The Orlando Sentinel. RetrievedMarch 18, 2013.

[83] Dan Powell (September 1, 1985). “Tornado Rips ThroughHomes: Tropicana FeelsWrathOfHurricane”. TheOcalaSun-Star. Retrieved March 18, 2013.

[84] Barnes, p. 254

[85] Barnes, pp. 254–255

[86] Brian E. Crowley (September 3, 1985). “Alabama ResortVirtually Swept Away”. The Palm Beach Post. RetrievedMarch 18, 2013.

[87] National Climatic Data Center, p. 28

[88] Associated Press (September 4, 1985). “At least 370dwellings sustain damage from Hurricane Elena”. TheGadsden Times. Retrieved March 18, 2013.

[89] Sparks, p. 78, 80

[90] Associated Press (September 3, 1985). "'Bama nativesclean up in aftermath of Elena”. The Kentucky New Era.Retrieved March 18, 2013.

[91] Jim Nesbitt (September 4, 1985). "'We Don't KnowWhere Our House Went'". The Orlando Sentinel. Re-trieved March 18, 2013.

[92] Timothy P. Marshall (September 1985). “HurricaneElena Damage Survey: September 2, 1985”. Stormtrack.Retrieved April 14, 2013.

[93] Sparks, pp. 23–24

[94] Minerals Management Service, p. D-19

[95] Associated Press (September 9, 1985). “Two AlabamaCoastal Counties Declared Major Disaster Area”. TheOcala Star-Banner. Retrieved March 18, 2013.

[96] Sparks, p. 15

[97] United Press International (September 3, 1985).“Tornadoes hit Mississippi shelters”. St. PetersburgTimes. Retrieved April 3, 2013.

[98] Sparks, p. 50

[99] United Press International (September 3, 1985).“Casualties light amid Elena damage”. The Telegraph.Retrieved April 4, 2013.

[100] Associated Press (September 3, 1985). “Hurricane ElenaPounds Gulf Coast”. The Bangor Daily News. RetrievedMarch 20, 2013.

[101] Associated Press (September 5, 1985). “Food Short InMississippi Counties”. The Palm Beach Post. RetrievedApril 4, 2013.

[102] Sparks, p. 49

[103] Sparks, p. 59

[104] Sparks, p. 72

[105] Sand Beach Planning Team (1986). Sand Beach MasterPlan (Report). Mississippi Department of Wildlife Con-servation. pp. 15, 34, 41. Retrieved April 6, 2013.

[106] Associated Press (September 4, 1985). “More than17,000 dwellings damaged by Hurricane Elena”. TheDaily News. Retrieved April 8, 2013.

[107] National Climatic Data Center, p. 36

[108] Barry Bearak and J. Michael Kennedy (September 3,1985). “Storm Rips Into Coastal Mississippi : DamageIs Massive in 35-Mile Strip; Injuries Are Minor”. TheLos Angeles Times. Retrieved April 3, 2013.

[109] Michael Hirsley and Storer Rowley (September 4, 1985).“Elena Leaves Megadollar Mess”. The Chicago Tribune.Retrieved April 4, 2013.

[110] Mineral Management Service, p. D-12

[111] Dan Even (September 3, 1985). “Elena’s victims returnto rebuild homes”. The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved April4, 2013.

[112] National Climatic Data Center, p. 33

[113] David M. Roth. “Louisiana Hurricane History” (PDF).Weather Prediction Center. p. 45. Retrieved March 20,2013.

[114] Dan Even (September 3, 1985). “Hurricane HowlsAshore at Biloxi”. The Schenectady Gazette. RetrievedMarch 20, 2013.

[115] John Demers (September 2, 1985). “Elena sparesLouisiana but spoils holiday”. United Press International– via LexisNexis.

[116] Minerals Management Service, p. D-7

[117] Sarah Fearnley et al. (2009). “Hurricane Impact and Re-covery Shoreline Change Analysis and Historical IslandConfiguration: 1700s to 2005” (PDF). United States Ge-ological Survey. p. 22. Retrieved March 20, 2013.

[118] Minerals Management Service, p. D-8

[119] “Elena’s rain helped, but South Georgia’s crops still needmore”. The Atlanta Journal – Constitution. September 5,1985. Retrieved March 17, 2013.

[120] National Weather Service Little Rock (August 29, 2012).“Tropical systems and their effects in Arkansas”. Na-tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Re-trieved March 17, 2013.

15

[121] Associated Press (September 5, 1985). “Heavy rain inArk; record heat in east”. The Gainesville Sun. RetrievedMarch 17, 2013.

[122] National Climatic Data Center, pp. 32–33

[123] Associated Press (September 6, 1985). “Remnants ofHurricane Elena Cause West Kentucky Flooding”. TheHarlan Daily Enterprise. Retrieved March 17, 2013.

[124] Staff writer (August 28, 1985). “Domestic News”. Asso-ciated Press. – via LexisNexis (subscription required)

[125] United Press International (September 3, 1985).“Guardsmen patrol in the wake of Hurricane Elena”. TheCourier. Retrieved April 4, 2013.

[126] National Hurricane Center. “Tropical Cyclone NamingHistory and Retired Names”. National Oceanic and At-mospheric Administration. Retrieved April 7, 2013.

[127] “Florida HURRICANE ELENA (DR-743)". FederalEmergency Management Agency. Retrieved April 8,2013.

[128] Associated Press (September 16, 1985). “4 aid centersopen to help Elena victims”. The Gainesville Sun. Re-trieved April 8, 2013.

[129] Staff writer (November 8, 1985). “Deadline Approachesfor ElenaAid”. The Evening Independent. RetrievedApril9, 2013.

[130] Judy Garnatz (September 17, 1985). “Hurricane Elenavictims given help – and credit”. The Evening Indepen-dent. Retrieved April 10, 2013.

[131] Gary Kirkland (September 3, 1985). “Cedar Key piecesitself together after Elena’s destruction”. The GainesvilleSun. Retrieved April 8, 2013.

[132] Mitch Lubitz. “Pinellas’ tourism took dip in aftermath ofhurricane”. The Evening Independent. Retrieved April 9,2013.

[133] Mary Ann Polak (August 26, 1986). “Emergency rulingsmay create a storm at tonight’s hearing”. The Evening In-dependent. Retrieved April 10, 2013.

[134] Ned Barnett (August 27, 1986). “Commission votes toraise property taxes”. The Evening Independent. Re-trieved April 10, 2013.

[135] Linda Kleindienst (September 17, 1985). “FishermenMay Use Grant To Recover From Elena’s Force”. TheOrlando Sun Sentinel. Retrieved April 8, 2013.

[136] United Press International (January 21, 1986). "$25,000Raised For Oystermen”. The Orlando Sun Sentinel. Re-trieved April 8, 2013.

[137] Associated Press (September 5, 1985). “State will overseewaterfront rebuilding”. The Miami News. Retrieved April11, 2013.

[138] Rochelle D. Lewis (January 26, 1990). “New beach to fixdamage by Elena”. The St. Petersburg Times.

[139] “Alabama HURRICANE ELENA (DR-742)". FederalEmergency Management Agency. Retrieved April 9,2013.

[140] Associated Press (September 8, 1985). “Reagan declares2 counties disaster areas”. The Times Daily. RetrievedApril 9, 2013.

[141] “Mississippi HURRICANE ELENA (DR-741)". Fed-eral Emergency Management Agency. Retrieved April 9,2013.

[142] United Press International (September 5, 1985). “Reagandeclares Mississippi coast official disaster area”. The LodiNews-Sentinel. Retrieved April 9, 2013.

[143] Associated Press (September 6, 1985). “Governor backfor disaster planning”. The Lewiston Journal. RetrievedApril 8, 2013.

7 References• Jay Barnes (2007). Florida’s Hurricane History.Chapel Hill Press. ISBN 0-8078-3068-2.

• Kevin R. Bodge and David L. Kriebel (1985).Storm surge and wave damage along Florida’s GulfCoast from Hurricane Elena (Report). University ofFlorida. Retrieved April 3, 2013.

• United States Minerals Management Service(1996). Proposed oil and gas lease sales 110and 112, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region: draftenvironmental impact statement (Report). UnitedStates Department of the Interior. Retrieved April3, 2013.

• National Climatic Data Center (September 1985).“Storm Data for September 1985” (PDF). StormData (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-istration) 27 (9). Retrieved April 15, 2013.

• Peter R. Sparks, National Research Council (U.S.).Committee on Natural Disasters (1991). HurricaneElena, Gulf Coast, August 29-September 2, 1985.National Academy Press. ISBN 0-309-04434-0.

8 External links• User-submitted footage of Hurricane Elena fromFlorida, Alabama, and Mississippi

• User-submitted footage from under the eye of Hur-ricane Elena

• Image gallery fromWTSP in St. Petersburg, Florida

16 9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1 Text• Hurricane Elena Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Elena?oldid=679340245 Contributors: Edward, Sannse, Ee79, Ed g2s,

Altenmann, Cholling, BigT27, Michael Devore, Golbez, Rich Farmbrough, Vsmith, Shanes, LeonardoGregianin, Timl, Sandover, Jdorje,WadeSimMiser, Miss Madeline, BD2412, Rjwilmsi, Erebus555, WillC, Jaraalbe, Kummi, Mike Halterman, CrazyC83, Pb30, Hurri-canehink, Byrdiecj, SmackBot, Ashenai, Hydrogen Iodide, IstvanWolf, Mitchazenia, Storm05, Ohconfucius, Thegreatdr, CapeVerde-Wave, Mr Stephen, Dhp1080, Abog, CWY2190, Neelix, Nilfanion, Cydebot, Thijs!bot, AntiVandalBot, Sreejithk2000, NE2, KeithD, CommonsDelinker, J.delanoy, Plasticup, Juliancolton, Hugo999, NilfaBot, Slysplace, WereSpielChequers, Lightmouse, Denisarona,ClueBot, Mild Bill Hiccup, NuclearWarfare, Arjayay, SchreiberBike, Another Believer, Laser brain, Cyclonebiskit, Addbot, Tassedethe,Luckas-bot, 12george1, Plasticbot, AnomieBOT, Archon 2488, Materialscientist, ArthurBot, GenQuest, Wonderworld1995268, Fres-coBot, Alaphent, TheAustinMan, Lars Washington, Jroehl, Lightlowemon, Trappist the monk, Begoon, Students at the UCLA, Emaus-Bot, John of Reading, GA bot, Hurricanefan101, Jarodalien, Brandmeister, Chris857, Hylian Auree, TropicalAnalystwx13, ClueBotNG, Bibcode Bot, Typeractive, IPhonehurricane95, Dexbot, Frosty, Fox2k11, Jamesx12345, Zziccardi, VoxelBot, WxBot, TFA Pro-tector Bot, Giftgowa, ChingstaEnxed, Monkbot, BethNaught, S26772566, The Dog 1019, Chene1994, Iceman MD, Trip8833, Anony-mous13333333333333377777777777, Stopbanningme, Vinaysinghvinu, Durpyturtle and Anonymous: 44

9.2 Images• File:1985_Atlantic_hurricane_season_summary_map.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/1985_

Atlantic_hurricane_season_summary_map.png License: Public domain Contributors: Created using Wikipedia:WikiProject Tropical cy-clones/Tracks. The background image is from NASA [1]. The tracking data is from the National Hurricane Center's Atlantic hurricanedatabase Original artist: Supportstorm

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• File:Elena_01_sep_1985_1253Z_N8.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Elena_01_sep_1985_1253Z_N8.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.class.noaa.gov/ Original artist: NOAA

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• File:Elena_1985_rainfall.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Elena_1985_rainfall.gif License: Publicdomain Contributors: WPC tropical cyclone rainfall data Original artist: David Roth, Weather Prediction Center, Camp Springs, Mary-land

• File:Elena_1985_track.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Elena_1985_track.png License: Public do-main Contributors: Created using Wikipedia:WikiProject Tropical cyclones/Tracks. The background image is from NASA. Tracking datafrom the National Hurricane Center.[1] Original artist: See file upload history for details.

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• File:Hurricane_Elena_August_30_500_mb.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Hurricane_Elena_August_30_500_mb.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/dwm/1985/19850826-19850901.djvu Orig-inal artist: NOAA Central Library Data Imaging Project

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9.3 Content license 17

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