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Hurricane Hanna Hammered South Texas, Northern Mexico With Flooding Rain, Storm Surge, Winds
Hurricane Hanna Hammered South Texas, Northern Mexico With Flooding Rain, Storm Surge, Winds
Jan 17, 2024 3:33 PM

At a Glance

Hanna quickly intensified to a hurricane before slamming into South Texas. Storm surge flooding, damaging winds and a few tornadoes were produced by Hanna.Hanna's rainfall flooding was the main impact, extending into northeast Mexico.

Hurricane Hanna slammed into the South Texas coast with storm surge flooding, damaging winds, and flooding rain that spread into the Rio Grande Valley and into northeast Mexico.

Hanna formed from a tropical wave which migrated westward across the Gulf of Mexico. By the , enough convection persisted near a closed low-pressure center for the system to be designated Tropical Depression Eight.

Just 24 hours later, a Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance mission found winds ticked up just enough to upgrade Tropical Depression Eight to , the , beating Tropical Storm Harvey's record, set in 2005, according to Phil Klotzbach, tropical scientist at Colorado State University.

Hanna continued to consolidate its convection around its center. Less than 12 hours before its first Texas landfall, Hanna became the first hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season, of the first Atlantic Basin hurricane of the season, according to the National Hurricane Center.

(MORE: Why Hanna Was Such a Challenging Intensity Forecast)

And it wasn't done .

Hanna eventually made a pair of South Texas landfalls on Padre Island, then in Kenedy County, Texas, later on July 25 as a stronger-end Category 1 hurricane.

This infrared satellite loop shows the intensification of Hurricane Hanna in the 24 hours prior to landfall along the South Texas coast on July 25, 2020.

The hurricane then tracked west-southwestward into the Rio Grande Valley, then into northeast Mexico where it eventually weakened.

Track history of Hurricane Hanna in late July 2020.

(Data: NHC)

Rainfall Flooding, Winds, Surge

A sea-level rise of more than 6 feet inundated North Padre Island near Corpus Christi as the eyewall of Hurricane Hanna arrived.

A portion of a Bob Hall pier near Corpus Christi was destroyed by the rough seas, the , KIII-TV reported.

Significant surge flooding also inundated North Beach, just north of downtown Corpus Christi, leaving a mess of .

Farther up the Texas coast, more than two feet of storm surge near Sargent, Texas, overwashed dunes, creating on Sargent Beach.

(MORE: Rundown of Hanna's Impacts in Texas, Mexico)

In Willacy County wind damage was widespread in Port Mansfield, including downed power poles and damaged or destroyed mobile homes rolled over by winds. A wind gust to 103 mph was clocked by a buoy 17 miles north of Port Mansfield.

Heavy rain across the Lower Rio Grande Valley into northeast Mexico triggered serious flooding in several areas.

Several feet of water inundated streets in , and a number of other towns between, McAllen and Brownsville.

A flash flood emergency was issued early on the morning of July 26 for Mission, Texas, where numerous water rescues were performed.

According to the Texas Water Development Board, 6 to 10 inches of rain fell over the Lower Rio Grande Valley from Hanna.

Estimated rainfall and rainfall flood reports from Hurricane Hanna on Deep South Texas.

In northeast Mexico, Monterrey picked up , leading to the collapse of a shopping mall roof.

In neighboring Coahuila state, flooding turned deadly after a van was swept away and a landslide closed a major road.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, .

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