Hurricane Nicholas (2021): Track, Deaths, Damage and Rainfall

Radar

Reflectivity now over Hurricane Nicholas. Open it to see storms, cones and warnings on the map.

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Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.

The storm

Basin: North Atlantic
Dates: September 12, 2021 to September 17, 2021
Peak strength: Category 1, 65 kt (75 mph)
Lowest pressure: 988 mb (29.18 inHg)
Landfall: Yes
Accumulated cyclone energy: 2.4
Tropical-storm-force wind reached: 160 nmi (296 km, 184 mi) from the center at its widest
Hurricane-force wind reached: 25 nmi (46 km, 29 mi) from the center at its widest
Eyewall radius at its peak: 25 nmi (46 km, 29 mi)
Overall size: 160 nmi (296 km, 184 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
Peak gust in the best track: 80 kt (92 mph)
Fastest the center moved: 15 kt (17 mph)
Identifier: AL142021

Radar at KHGX as it neared land, Sep 14, 05:30 UTC

Deaths and damage

The sources count different things and are not added together.

National Hurricane Center

2 direct deaths$1.0 billion in the United States

The season table in NHC’s report archive, final report. Direct deaths are those caused by the storm’s own wind, water or surge, anywhere in the world.

NOAA Storm Events

0 deaths (0 direct, 0 indirect)$949,000

What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 7 states and marine areas, in the United States only. Property and crop damage as each office estimated it, which is not a national loss total.

Landfall

Time (UTC)	Where	Position	Wind	Pressure
Sep 14, 05:30	Matagorda, TX, 26 km away	28.7N 95.7W	65 kt (75 mph)	991 mb

Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.

In the United States

NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.

Deaths: 0 (0 direct, 0 indirect)
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $949,000
Crop damage: none recorded
Events recorded: 106 in 18 reports from 7 states and marine areas

State by state

State or marine area	Damage	Events
Louisiana	$520,000	13
Alabama	$250,000	5
Texas	$125,000	48
Kentucky	$28,000	6
Mississippi	$26,000	9
Gulf of Mexico		22
Florida		3

What was recorded

32 flash flood, 27 tropical storm, 16 storm surge/tide, 11 marine thunderstorm wind, 10 marine tropical storm, 7 flood, 1 marine hurricane/typhoon, 1 hurricane (typhoon), 1 heavy rain.

Wind reports

The strongest winds National Weather Service offices recorded with this storm. An estimated figure is a forecaster’s judgment from the damage, not an instrument reading.

Wind	How	Where	State	Time (UTC)
43 kt (49 mph)	Measured	BAY WAVELAND YACHT CLUB STATION (WYCM6)	Gulf of Mexico	Sep 15, 11:32
42 kt (48 mph)	Measured	7.54 WSW of PENSACOLA PASS	Gulf of Mexico	Sep 15, 14:50

What forecast offices wrote

From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.

Doppler radar, satellite imagery, and aircraft reconnaissance indicated Tropical Storm Nicholas moved across the region from the early morning to late evening hours of the 13th. Sustained winds were from 55-60 knots with gusts up to 70 knots. Seas built to 15 to 20 feet in the late morning through the afternoon and evening.
Pt Aransas To Baffin Bay Tx 20 To 60nm, Gulf of Mexico · Marine Tropical Storm · Sep 13, 12:00 UTC

Doppler radar, satellite imagery, and aircraft reconnaissance indicated Tropical Storm Nicholas moved across the region from the early morning to late evening hours of the 13th. Sustained winds were from 40-50 knots with gusts up to 60 knots. Seas built to 14 to 18 feet in the late morning through the afternoon and evening.
Matagorda Ship Chnl To Pt Aransas Out 20nm, Gulf of Mexico · Marine Tropical Storm · Sep 13, 12:00 UTC

Tropical storm winds occurred over coastal sections of Calhoun County. A maximum wind gust to 67 knots or 77 mph occurred at Port O'Connor at 636 PM LST. Widespread small to medium sized tree limbs were snapped over Port O'Connor with several large trees uprooted. Several utility poles were also snapped. Many fences were blown down in the older section of town. Improperly secured metal roofs were blown off and several boat storage buildings suffered significant sheet metal damage. Small to medium sized tree limbs were snapped around Indianola. Several roofs were damaged with sheet metal partially removed.
Coastal Calhoun County, Texas · Tropical Storm · Sep 13, 20:00 UTC

Hurricane Nicholas produced several hours of strong tropical storm force sustained winds and gusts. Winds briefly exceeded hurricane thresholds at a wind sensor near Matagorda. There were numerous power outages, trees downed and minor to moderate damage to some structures and roofs. There was minor to moderate coastal flooding and beach erosion. The towns of Sargent and Matagorda were especially hard hit.
Matagorda Islands, Texas · Hurricane (Typhoon) · Sep 13, 21:00 UTC

Tropical storm conditions spread into Cameron Parish from Nicholas. Sustained winds peaked at 37 knots and the highest wind gust reached 43 knots.
West Cameron, Louisiana · Tropical Storm · Sep 14, 16:18 UTC

All lanes of US 167 were flooded and closed from LA 748 to the Evangeline/Saint Landry Parish Line. Rainfall totals were 6 to 11 inches over a 6 hour period.
Evangeline, Louisiana · Flash Flood · Sep 15, 10:34 UTC

Six inches of rainfall was estimated to have fallen since 7 am EDT on Naylor Road, just off of Hwy 111, north-northeast of Owingsville.
Bath, Kentucky · Heavy Rain · Sep 15, 11:00 UTC

A section of road near the intersection of Hwy 36 W and White Oak Road was reported impassable due to water over the road just northwest of Owingsville.
Bath, Kentucky · Flash Flood · Sep 15, 12:12 UTC

Williams Silvers Parkway, the east bound lanes of Canal Road, and Jubilee Point Road were all flooded in the Orange Beach area.
Baldwin, Alabama · Flash Flood · Sep 15, 19:05 UTC

Over 6 inches of rain is just a couple of hours time resulted in significant flash flooding in parts of the Lillian and Seminole areas. In Lillian, fast moving water over Highway 98 washed cars off the road. A water rescue had to be performed at the Lillian Post Office due to a person being trapped in their vehicle. County Road 99 at Pearson Branch Bridge was closed due to flooding. In Seminole, a portion of Liatrus Lane near Juniper Road caved in with a six to 10 foot sink hole.
Baldwin, Alabama · Flash Flood · Sep 15, 19:45 UTC

Flooding was reported in the Shangri-La neighborhood off of Highway 98. Several streets were flooded in downtown Pensacola. Social media pictures showed water up to the top of tires in a parking lot in West Pensacola.
Escambia, Florida · Flash Flood · Sep 15, 20:30 UTC

Ortega St and Onich Dr in Navarre was closed to due to flooding. Other roads in Navarre were flooded as well, including Avenida De Sol north of Torres St and along High School Blvd.
Santa Rosa, Florida · Flash Flood · Sep 16, 19:40 UTC

Broadcast media reported cars flooded and stalled due to water covered roadways north of Back Bay Biloxi along Popps Ferry Road in Biloxi.
Harrison, Mississippi · Flash Flood · Sep 17, 15:17 UTC

Harrison County Emergency manager relayed a Biloxi Police Department report of Highway 90 at Miramar and Baywood to be impassable due to high water.
Harrison, Mississippi · Flash Flood · Sep 17, 15:21 UTC

Track

Time (UTC)	Position	Wind	Pressure	Status
Sep 12, 12:00	21.0N 95.2W	35 kt	1008 mb	Tropical storm
Sep 12, 18:00	22.4N 95.6W	35 kt	1008 mb	Tropical storm
Sep 13, 00:00	23.7N 96.1W	40 kt	1007 mb	Tropical storm
Sep 13, 06:00	24.8N 96.5W	50 kt	1001 mb	Tropical storm
Sep 13, 12:00	25.9N 96.7W	50 kt	1000 mb	Tropical storm
Sep 13, 18:00	27.0N 96.6W	55 kt	998 mb	Tropical storm
Sep 14, 00:00	28.0N 96.2W	65 kt	988 mb	Hurricane
Sep 14, 05:30 landfall	28.7N 95.7W	65 kt	991 mb	Hurricane
Sep 14, 06:00	28.8N 95.7W	65 kt	991 mb	Hurricane
Sep 14, 12:00	29.3N 95.4W	50 kt	999 mb	Tropical storm
Sep 14, 18:00	29.6N 94.9W	35 kt	1003 mb	Tropical storm
Sep 15, 00:00	29.9N 94.4W	30 kt	1003 mb	Tropical depression
Sep 15, 06:00	30.2N 93.8W	30 kt	1004 mb	Tropical depression
Sep 15, 12:00	30.3N 93.1W	25 kt	1006 mb	Tropical depression
Sep 15, 18:00	30.2N 92.4W	25 kt	1006 mb	Low
Sep 16, 00:00	29.9N 91.8W	25 kt	1006 mb	Low
Sep 16, 06:00	29.3N 91.6W	20 kt	1007 mb	Low
Sep 16, 12:00	29.7N 91.7W	20 kt	1007 mb	Low
Sep 16, 18:00	29.9N 92.2W	20 kt	1009 mb	Low
Sep 17, 00:00	30.3N 92.6W	15 kt	1009 mb	Low
Sep 17, 06:00	30.8N 93.0W	15 kt	1010 mb	Low

Other North Atlantic storms of 2021

What this means

A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.

Sources

Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.