Any Hurricanes in Katy or Sugarland (Houston, Waco: homes, neighborhood, to buy)

[Mom2Feebs]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

Who gave me a negative rep for this? Saying "this Guerilla obviously has never head of Hurricane Carla".

Report it to a mod. People are not supposed to use the rep system for that reason...it really irks me when that happens.

[Eastender67]

Yes, both Sugar Land and Katy have experienced hurricanes and will do so again.
The good news is that those (hurricanes affecting Sugar Land and/or Katy) do not happen often. Both Alicia and Carla caused some problems but not as bad as on the coast.
Hurricane Rita cause severe damage all the way north to Jasper, Texas so the damage is not limited just to coastal communities. Check that out. So much depends on the severity and the path of the storm. The Jasper area and parts of upper East Texas were without power for several weeks despite being much farther inland than either Sugar Land or Katy.
So, if you're considering moving to either Sugar Land or Katy, the chances of being involved with a hurricane are about the same as if you were in Houston. It does not happen very often but it does happen. We've been lucky.

[BobTex]

Originally Posted by Lake Conroe resident

LOL, Does Houston and surrounding areas ever get hurricanes... Does LA have earthquakes? It doesn't happen every year of course but there is always the possibility for them every year. Like a earlier poster said, the farther inland you are the less effect it will have on you. I can tell you that if a cat 5 hurricane rolls through Galveston or the surrounding areas that either of the places that you mentioned will feel the effects of it (flooding, downed trees, wind damaged buildings etc...)

I kinda laughed at this too. "Ever" encompasses a really long time!


I can say this about hurricanes as related to my experiences. I barely remember Audrey and was on the west side of the storm and evacuated from Port Neches to Beaumont. The storm killed approximately 350 people in 1957.

Was in Port Neches for Carla which came ashore west of Galveston I think . Storm surge in Port arthur was 14 feet as the hurricane levee is 16 feet ... almost topped it. We went to Beaumont again.

Hurricane Carla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Minimal wind damage fo both these storms at our home.

Now the good part. I now live 75 miles inland in the southern Pineywoods. Many evacuated from the coast to here for Hurricane Rita ... bad move IMO. Even though it was reported as a Cat III on landfall I believe this is false information. The county airport 5 miles north of my land measured sustained winds slightly over 100mph and another weather station in Woodville (still 80+ miles inland) recording instrument broke with a gusts of 126mph. Lake Livingston dam recorded winds at 91mph (and a lot of damage to the dam itself) ... way to the west of the track. We had 4 trees on the house we were in (my neighbor). My house had minimal damage. I lost over 100 mature trees ... some hundreds of years old (oaks, pines, and many mature cedars). The eye passed about 25 miles east of me. It was bad here and I promise I will not sit another one like this one out. I was totally unprepared for the ferocity of this storm. (Actually I was prepared with 2 generators, 75 gallons of gas, plenty of food and water). I was just mentally unprepared. We were without power of 16 days and they still are working on transmission lines around here over 2 years later.


Hurricane Rita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



This is my experiences living within 100 miles of the coast for 45 of my 54 years. If a big Cat V hurricane hits west of Galveston I'd expect it to be felt pretty much in the Katy area and Sugarland would take a big hit! I don't think one's life would be endangered though with prudent preparations and actions.

I've been to Cameron and Holly Beach Louisiana since Rita ... both were wiped off the face of the earth ... it was unbelievable almost. I still think this storm was reported as weaker than it was for some reason or other. If it was a Cat III I wouldn't want to be within 250 miles of a Cat V.

[professorsenator]

What Houston *DOES* experience on a pretty regular basis are incredibly powerful thunderstorms that dump huge amounts of rain and cause very serious localized flooding--streets, highways and highway interchanges, neighborhoods, etc. Compared to most other parts of the country, the ferocity of these storms is quite extraordinary (the violence of the storms is driven by Houston's extremely high heat and humidity) and I'll bet most folks who've been in Houston for a while have themselves been flooded out or know someone who has.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by professorsenator

What Houston *DOES* experience on a pretty regular basis are incredibly powerful thunderstorms that dump huge amounts of rain and cause very serious localized flooding--streets, highways and highway interchanges, neighborhoods, etc. Compared to most other parts of the country, the ferocity of these storms is quite extraordinary (the violence of the storms is driven by Houston's extremely high heat and humidity) and I'll bet most folks who've been in Houston for a while have themselves been flooded out or know someone who has.

I wouldn't consider the weather here violent. Heavy, flooding torrential rains? Yes. Ever been to the hill country or DFW area during a thunderstorm? High winds, rain, hail, thunder that can make you jump out of your skin, etc... that's a hell of a lot more violent than here. Many times the time the heavy rain simply comes straight down here. That's not to say we don't have our moments, but it could be a lot worse.

Then again, look at this map:

http://www-das.uwyo.edu/~geerts/cwx/.../us_precip.gif

We're not in the wettest, swampiest part of the gulf coast, as some tend to believe. It could be more extreme, like Gulfport or Biloxi.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by tstone

I wouldn't consider the weather here violent. Heavy, flooding torrential rains? Yes. Ever been to the hill country or DFW area during a thunderstorm? High winds, rain, hail, thunder that can make you jump out of your skin, etc... that's a hell of a lot more violent than here. Many times the time the heavy rain simply comes straight down here. That's not to say we don't have our moments, but it could be a lot worse. It could be more extreme, like Gulfport or Biloxi.

Compared to MOST places in the U.S., Houston has much more severe thunderstorms. They may not be the worst in the entire nation, but Houston has some pretty ferocious storms. And I would suggest that "It could be worse--we're not Mississippi" is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by professorsenator

Compared to MOST places in the U.S., Houston has much more severe thunderstorms. They may not be the worst in the entire nation, but Houston has some pretty ferocious storms. And I would suggest that "It could be worse--we're not Mississippi" is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

The whole "US South" from I-35 to the Atlantic is going to be like that. That's a pretty big chunk of the country, and a relatively heavily populated part too. Most of the country doesn't get this type of thunderstorm, but most people don't live there either. (West)

I put in that Mississippi comment because people are so quick to bash our heat & humidity when there is plenty of Gulf Coast-line that is worse, as well as the majority of FL. It wasn't an endorsement. Of course we're a grasslandy swamp.

Well I could also say we're not the Pacific NW coast. They get what, about 100 more inches of rain per year than we do, and 4 months of 80+ mph winds. They got nailed a couple months ago with a 2 day, 120 mph "thunderstorm," immediately after we visited.

[Rick4Life]

If a hurricane was a Cat 5 and hit directly on land towards Katy, it most likely wouldn't even be a Cat 1 by the time it reached Katy.

[BobTex]

Originally Posted by Rick4Life

If a hurricane was a Cat 5 and hit directly on land towards Katy, it most likely wouldn't even be a Cat 1 by the time it reached Katy.

I used to think like that too ... until Rita! You could probably stand a reality check on that!

[Guerilla]

Rita didn't do anything to Katy. I think a few leaves got blown around.