User:TheAustinMan/sandbox/Hurricane Opal
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Hurricane Opal was an intense and destructive late-season tropical cyclone that impacted the United States Gulf Coast and Yucatán Peninsula from late September to early October 1995. As part of a highly active hurricane season, the storm was also the first Atlantic cyclone to be given a name starting with the letter "o." At the time, the hurricane was the third costliest Atlantic hurricane on record behind only hurricanes Andrew and Hugo Opal's slow movement and copious rainfall contributed to its impacts in Mexico and Guatemala, where most of the deaths associated with the storm occurred, while strong winds and high storm surge were the cause for most of the damage along the United States Gulf Coast, where most of Opal's damage toll monetarily was accrued. Lesser impacts were felt across the Eastern United States and into Eastern Canada, where the storm produced a wide swath of heavy rain, strong gales, and tornadoes.
Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Formed | September 27, 1995 (September 27, 1995) |
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Dissipated | October 6, 1995 (October 6, 1995) |
(Extratropical after October 5) | |
Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 150 mph (240 km/h) [nb 1] |
Lowest pressure | 916 mbar (hPa); 27.05 inHg |
Fatalities | 63 total |
Damage | $5.1 billion (1995 USD) |
Areas affected |
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Part of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Opal originated from a tropical depression on September 27 off the Yucatán Peninsula; the system reached tropical storm intensity despite interacting with peninsula on September 30 before becoming a hurricane in the Bay of Campeche on October 1. Rapid intensification ensued after Opal turned northeast as the storm moved over the Gulf of Mexico, reaching Category 4 hurricane strength on October 4 before steadily weakening thereafter. Later that day, Opal made landfall on the extreme northwestern Florida coast. Continued progress into the North American continent caused the system to quickly weaken over land; on October 6, the once potent system had transitioned into an extratropical cyclone before dissipating later that day.