Meteorological history of Hurricane Harvey information
Hurricane Harvey
Map plotting the track and intensity of Hurricane Harvey according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
Meteorological history
Formed
August 17, 2017 (2017-08-17)
Extratropical
September 1, 2017
Dissipated
September 2, 2017 (2017-09-02)
Category 4 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds
130 mph (215 km/h)
Lowest pressure
937 mbar (hPa); 27.67 inHg
Overall effects
Areas affected
Windward Islands, Suriname, Guyana, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Yucatán Peninsula, United States (particularly Texas)
Part of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season
History • Meteorological history
Effects • Texas
Other wikis • Commons: Harvey images
Hurricane Harvey was the costliest tropical cyclone on record (tied with Hurricane Katrina of 2005), inflicting roughly $125 billion in damage across the Houston metropolitan area and Southeast Texas.[1] It lasted from mid-August until early September 2017, with many records for rainfall and landfall intensity set during that time. The eighth named storm, third hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Harvey originated from a broad area of low pressure southwest of Cape Verde that was first monitored on August 13. Tracking steadily westward, the disturbance developed strong convection, a well-defined circulation, and sustained tropical storm-force winds, leading to the classification of Tropical Storm Harvey late on August 17. Moderate easterly vertical wind shear kept Harvey weak, as it continued westwards into the Caribbean Sea; despite repeated predictions for gradual intensification by the National Hurricane Center, Harvey eventually opened up into a tropical wave on August 19. The remnants of Harvey continued to move westwards and reached the Yucatán Peninsula on August 22, and were forecast to regenerate into a tropical cyclone after exiting land.
On August 23, Harvey moved into the Bay of Campeche and quickly developed a well-defined circulation, becoming a tropical depression later that day and a tropical storm fifteen hours later. Curving northwestwards into a favorable environment with low wind shear and high sea surface temperatures, Harvey began to consolidate and developed an eye. Rapid intensification ensued as Harvey approached the coast of Texas, with Harvey becoming a hurricane in the afternoon of August 24. Despite some dry air entrainment halting the intensification process for the rest of the day, Harvey soon resumed strengthening and became the season's first major hurricane in the evening of August 25. Continuing to deepen, Harvey attained peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometres per hour (130 mph)—Category 4 status on the Saffir–Simpson scale—and a minimum pressure of 937 mbar (27.67 inHg), as it made its first landfall near Rockport, Texas at 03:00 UTC on August 26. This made Harvey the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005, the first major hurricane in Texas since Bret in 1999, and the strongest in Texas since Carla in 1961. Rapid weakening began as Harvey made a second landfall just north of Holiday Beach three hours after its first, degrading to a tropical storm that evening. Trapped between two ridges to its west and east, Harvey dramatically slowed as it moved inland, but began drifting southeast back towards water on August 27.
Harvey reemerged over the extreme western Gulf of Mexico as a weak tropical storm early on August 28; by this time almost 30 in (760 mm) of rain had fallen in the Greater Houston area. Moving slowly east-southeastwards, Harvey would bring an additional 20 in (510 mm) of rain to Greater Houston and parts of southwestern Louisiana over the next three days, becoming the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United States. Eventually, a trough moving over the Ohio Valley pulled Harvey northwards, and Harvey made a third and final landfall just west of Cameron, Louisiana, on August 30 before weakening into a tropical depression. Continuing to push inland, Harvey gradually lost tropical characteristics and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on September 1.
^Costliest U.S. tropical cyclones tables updated (PDF) (Report). Miami, Florida: National Hurricane Center. January 26, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
and 28 Related for: Meteorological history of Hurricane Harvey information
HurricaneHarvey was the costliest tropical cyclone on record (tied with Hurricane Katrina of 2005), inflicting roughly $125 billion in damage across...
HurricaneHarvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more...
Hurricane Maria was the tenth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record and caused catastrophic damage in Puerto Rico in late September 2017. Originating...
HurricaneHarvey caused major flooding in southern Texas for four days in August 2017. HurricaneHarvey formed on August 17, 2017 in the open Atlantic...
cyclones portal Hurricane Irma MeteorologicalhistoryofHurricane Georges 2017 Atlantic hurricane season Timeline of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season Eric...
considered to be one of the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers for tropical cyclones, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization. Until...
States Central Pacific Hurricane Center – Central Pacific Japan Meteorological Agency – Western Pacific India Meteorological Department – Indian Ocean...
costliest hurricanes were Katrina in 2005 and Harvey in 2017, both with uninflated damage totals amounting to US$125 billion. Of the 41 Atlantic hurricanes with...
(Report). World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved July 29, 2023. "Review of the Hurricane Operational Plan". World Meteorological Organization. British...
costliest hurricane in Florida's history, surpassing Irma of 2017, as well as the third-costliest in US history, behind only Katrina of 2005 and Harveyof 2017...
Hurricane Matthew was the first Category 5 Atlantic hurricane since Felix in 2007 and the southernmost Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record. The system...
two other Atlantic hurricanes. Allen is the only hurricane in the recorded historyof the Atlantic basin to achieve sustained winds of 190 mph (305 km/h)...
As of May 2024, there have been 1,727 tropical cyclones of at least tropical storm intensity, 960 at hurricane intensity, and 333 at major hurricane intensity...
the Wind Mahina: The Historyof Naming Cyclones" (PPTX). Hurricane Research Division, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic...
269. American Meteorological Society Archived 2015-04-18 at the Wayback Machine Tannehill (1938). Hurricanes, Their Nature and History. pp. 214–215. United...
Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States in terms of pressure, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Camille in...
Eric S (May 1, 2010). "Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2008*". Monthly Weather Review. 138 (5). American Meteorological Society: 1975–2001. Bibcode:2010MWRv...
2013. The Japan Meteorological Agency is the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the western Pacific Ocean. "Hurricane Ivan Uncovered...
storms, 10 hurricanes, and 6 major hurricanes. Most of the season's damage was due to hurricanesHarvey, Irma, and Maria. Another notable hurricane, Nate,...
destructive hurricanes, the costliest natural disaster in the historyof the United States (tied with HurricaneHarvey in 2017), and the deadliest hurricane since...
mention that the 1938 hurricane might have really been a more powerful Category 4, having winds similar to Hurricanes Hugo, Harvey, Frederic and Gracie...
the costliest hurricane in U.S. history at the time, but is now ninth following hurricanes Katrina (2005), Ike (2008), Sandy (2012), Harvey (2017), Irma...
Atlantic Tropical Cyclones". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 97 (7). American Meteorological Society: 1139–1148. Bibcode:2016BAMS.....
the 1900 Galveston hurricane. The ninth tropical storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricaneof the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Ike developed...
deadliest natural disaster in United States history. The strongest storm of the 1900 Atlantic hurricane season, it left between 6,000 and 12,000 fatalities...
record. It was the sixth named storm, third hurricane and first major hurricaneof the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. Fiona developed from a tropical wave...
and its application to instabilities ofhurricane-like vortices" (PDF). Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 144 (714): 1450. Bibcode:2018QJRMS...