Opal after peak intensity south of Louisiana early on October 4
Meteorological history
Formed
September 27, 1995 (September 27, 1995)
Dissipated
October 6, 1995 (October 6, 1995)
Category 4 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds
150 mph (240 km/h)
Lowest pressure
916 mbar (hPa); 27.05 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities
63 total
Damage
$4.7 billion (1995 USD)
Areas affected
Guatemala
Yucatán Peninsula
U.S. Gulf Coast (particularly the Florida Panhandle)
Ohio River Valley
Ontario
IBTrACS
Part of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Opal was a large and powerful Category 4 hurricane that caused severe and extensive damage along the northern Gulf Coast of the United States in October 1995. The fifteenth named storm, ninth hurricane and strongest tropical cyclone of the unusually active 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, Opal developed from the interaction of a tropical wave and a low-pressure area near the Yucatán Peninsula on September 27 as Tropical Depression Seventeen. The depression crossed the Yucatán Peninsula and intensified into a tropical storm on September 30. Opal intensified into a hurricane on October 2 after entering the Gulf of Mexico. The cyclone turned northeastward and strengthened significantly. By October 4, Opal was an intense 150 mph (240 km/h), Category 4 hurricane. With a minimum pressure of 916 mbar (hPa), Hurricane Opal was the most intense category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record. However, the cyclone abruptly weakened to a low-end Category 3 hurricane prior to making landfall on the Florida Panhandle near Pensacola later that day. The storm quickly unraveled as it moved inland and became extratropical on October 5. The remnants of Opal moved northward and dissipated over Ontario the following day.
The precursor and initial stages of Opal brought heavy rainfall and flooding to Guatemala and Mexico. In the former, flooding and landslides left about 34,000 people homeless and damage to infrastructure and agriculture. A total of 31 deaths occurred in Guatemala. In Mexico, a number of rivers overflowed in the states of Campeche and Tabasco, forcing more than 42,000 people to evacuate. The storm left hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to agriculture in Campeche alone. Nineteen people were killed in the country. In Florida, high winds and storm surge left extensive damage in the panhandle. The majority of structures were swept away or experienced some degree of damage, particularly from Wakulla County westward. In Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Bay counties, nearly 300 homes were destroyed and 1,000 others suffered major damage. The storm left at least $2.1 billion in damage in Florida alone. Several other states were impacted by the storm, especially Alabama, where the storm spawned many tornadoes and strong winds downed numerous trees and left about 2.6 million people without electricity. A total of 27 deaths were attributed to Opal in the United States. The hurricane overall left about $4.7 billion in damage, much of which took place in the US. Due to its destructive effects, the name Opal was retired in the spring of 1996 and replaced with Olga for the 2001 season.
HurricaneOpal was a large and powerful Category 4 hurricane that caused severe and extensive damage along the northern Gulf Coast of the United States...
were four particularly destructive hurricanes during the season, including Luis, Marilyn, Opal and Roxanne. Hurricanes Luis and Marilyn both caused catastrophic...
Atlantic hurricanes. Owing to their intensity, the strongest Atlantic hurricanes have all attained Category 5 classification. HurricaneOpal, the most...
USD) in damage, although not all damage could be distinguished from HurricaneOpal. In addition, 29 fatalities were reported. A tropical wave exited the...
eleven in the Western Pacific Ocean. In the Atlantic: HurricaneOpal (1995), a Category 4 hurricane that caused severe and extensive damage along the northern...
Atlantic hurricanes. Owing to their intensity, the strongest Atlantic hurricanes have all attained Category 5 classification. HurricaneOpal, the strongest...
notable hurricanes of that decade, including HurricaneOpal (1995) and Hurricane Georges (1998). During the disastrous 2005 Atlantic hurricane season,...
Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in Florida (and the United States) before Michael HurricaneOpal (1995) – another fast-moving major hurricane which affected...
National Hurricane Center (November 2, 1995). HurricaneOpal: September 27 – October 6, 1995 (PDF) (Preliminary Report). United States National Hurricane Center...
HurricaneOpal, after making landfall in Florida, moved over Alabama as a Category 1 hurricane, and passed west of Montgomery as it moved north. Opal...
statistics for a Category 4 hurricane, in terms of pressure in millibars (mbar) and hectopascals (hPa), are HurricaneOpal of 1995, peaking at a record...
earned him a national Edward R. Murrow award for his spot coverage of HurricaneOpal in 1995. Rascon has reported on major events all over the world, covering...
Atlantic hurricanesHurricaneOpal (1995) – A powerful Category 4 hurricane that affected the similar areas as a Category 3 storm Hurricane Georges (1998)...
Katrina, HurricaneOpal most definitively illustrates the deepening abilities of a warm core ring. After crossing the Yucatán Peninsula, Opal reentered...
Pennsylvania hurricanes Hurricane Elena (1985) HurricaneOpal (1995) Herbert, Paul (April 1976). "Atlantic Hurricane Season of 1975" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review...
HurricaneOpal, both in 1995. The area was a prime target of the March 1993 Storm of the Century. The panhandle suffered direct hits from Hurricane Ivan...
Miami hurricane, the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Hurricane Donna in 1960, HurricaneOpal in 1995, and Hurricane Michael...
seventh-costliest. Additionally, Hurricanes Eloise, Elena, and Opal hit or otherwise impacted the state as major hurricanes. The period from 2000 to the present...
tulipifera. It has been climbed and measured by tape drop by the NTS. Before HurricaneOpal broke its top in October 1995, Boogerman Pine was 63 m (207 ft) tall...
"Hurricane Felix Preliminary Report". National Hurricane Center. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2007-11-27. "wpc Report on Opal"...
of Sand Fence and Vegetation for Dune Building following Overwash by HurricaneOpal on Santa Rosa Island, Florida". Journal of Coastal Research. 17 (4):...
devastated similar areas Hurricane Joan–Miriam (1988) – A destructive Category 4 crossover hurricane that took a similar path HurricaneOpal (1995) – the most...
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