Texas, 2003

Hurricane and Tornado in Texas, July 15 to 25, 2003

July 15 to 25, 2003 · NWS CRP · 16 events in 11 counties and zones

Claudette began as a tropical wave in the far eastern Atlantic and strengthened into a tropical storm as she moved into the central Caribbean Sea. As Claudette passed the Yucatan Channel and entered the Gulf of Mexico on Friday July 12th, the steering currents relaxed and she slowed her northwesterly movement.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 15 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
16

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS CRP wrote it up.

Claudette began as a tropical wave in the far eastern Atlantic and strengthened into a tropical storm as she moved into the central Caribbean Sea. As Claudette passed the Yucatan Channel and entered the Gulf of Mexico on Friday July 12th, the steering currents relaxed and she slowed her northwesterly movement. Claudette produced tropical storm force winds and heavy rains primarily on her eastern quadrant, which spanned a large portion of the central Gulf and produced wave heights up to 15 feet. As early as Sunday July 13th large swells were reaching the sand dunes on Padre Island. Claudette wobbled slowly toward the middle Texas coast in very weak steering currents. The upper level shear in this system relaxed as expected providing the environment for Claudette to strengthen into a Hurricane. Claudette made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir/Simpson Scale near Port O'Connor, Texas (Calhoun County) on Tuesday July 15th around 1030 am. Just prior to landfall storm surge was 5 feet at Port O'Connor in combination with high astronomical tides. Wind speeds along the Northern Coastal Bend were generally sustained around 65 mph at landfall with gusts to 80 mph. Maximum sustained winds at the time of landfall were estimated by the National Hurricane Center at 90 mph. The Formosa Plant in Point Comfort recorded maximum sustained winds of 80 mph with a gust to 100 mph. The minimum central pressure of Claudette at the time of landfall was 981 MB (28.37 Inches). Claudette produced a brief tornado in Port Lavaca. Damage was not attributed directly to this tornado, rather to the hurricane winds.Claudette continued inland during the afternoon of the 15th across Victoria, Goliad and Bee counties weakening to a Tropical Storm. Claudette continued moving west across Live Oak, McMullen and La Salle counties during the evening and into EWX CWA. Claudette continued into Northwestern Mexico and into the Big Bend of Texas before dissipating on July 17th.Damages for all of Texas at the time of this writing stood at 45.7 million dollars in uninsured losses and 90.0 million in insured losses. These losses do not include crop damage, which were still pending at the time of this writing. In the State of Texas two indirect fatalities were also attributed to Claudette and six indirect injuries. One of the indirect fatalities occurred in the CRP CWA in Victoria when a woman was killed by a falling tree limb while surveying damage to her house. Over twenty thousand homes received damage across the CRP County Warning Area, most of which was classified as minor damage in Victoria County. Over six hundred homes received major damage, again most of which occurred in Victoria County. Over sixty homes were completely destroyed, mostly in Calhoun County.The heaviest rainfall with Claudette fell across Bee, Goliad and Refugio Counties. Widespread 4 to 6 inch amounts were estimated across these counties by CRP WSR-88D. Elsewhere along the path of Claudette totals ranged from 2 to 5 inches. Further south in CRP southern CWA totals remained under 1 inch expect for a thin band of 4 to 6 inch amounts stretching from the Padre Island National Seashore north into Refugio County.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Corpus Christi, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 15, 2:19 AM CST, 6 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 15, 2:19 AM CST, 6 hours 11 minutes before
COASTAL BEND FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
319 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2003

SHORT-TERM(TODAY THRU WED)...NHC FORECASTS CLAUDETTE TO MOVE ONSHORE
NEAR RKP THIS EVENING...WITH FASTEST WINDS NEAR/NORTH OF THE CENTER.
WL EXTEND THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH TO INCLUDE LIVE OAK AND MCMULLEN. WL
MAINTAIN THE INLAND TROPICAL WIND WATCH. INLAND TROPICAL WIND
WARNING WL NOT BE NEEDED UNTIL LATER THIS AFTN/EVENING. TIDE LEVELS
WILL CONTINUE TO RISE/COASTAL FLOODING REMAINS LIKELY OWING TO WAVE
ACTION/WIND/APPROACH OF THE CENTER OF THE CLAUDETTE. SEAS WILL
REMAIN HIGH. AS CLAUDETTE MOVES ONSHORE...TORNADOES ARE PSBL ON THE
NE QUADRANT RELATIVE TO ITS MOVEMENT.

LONG-TERM(WED THRU MON)...TROPICAL STORM CLAUDETTE WILL CONTINUE TO
IMPACT THE CWA WEDNESDAY. A DEEP MOISTURE-RICH SOUTHEAST FLOW WILL
BE COINCIDENT WITH STRONG 250HPA DIFFLUENCE. TROPICAL RAINS WILL
GRADUALLY TRANSLATE WESTWARD DURING THE DAY WITH THE RIO GRANDE
PLAINS MOST VULNERABLE TO EXCESSIVE RAINFALL AND WINDY CONDITIONS. A
MOIST/UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT WILL PREVAIL THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD
WITH A DAILY SEABREEZE FORCING CONVECTION(SLIGHT CHANCE/LOW-END
CHANCE POPS). SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY WILL BE EXPOSED TO
SOUTHWESTWARD 500HPA DISTURBANCES ROTATING AROUND THE UPPER-LEVEL
ANTICYCLONE AND MAY ENHANCE THE POTENTIAL FOR CONVECTION. THE
POTENTIAL FOR STANDING WATER WILL LIKELY KEEP MINIMUM TEMPERATURES
HIGHER AND MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES LOWER. SCA CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL
WEDNESDAY/WEDNESDAY NIGHT THEN REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY/CAUTION LEVELS
THEREAFTER.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
CRP NT 085/076 085/077 089 +8724
VCT NT 083/075 084/075 090 +8724
LRD NT 090/077 085/076 093 88834

.CRP...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TXZ230>234-245>247.
       HURRICANE WARNING IN EFFECT FOR COASTAL COUNTIES
       TXZ242>247 AND GMZ230-235-250-255-270-275.
       INLAND TROPICAL STORM WIND WATCH TXZ232>234.

87/SHORT-TERM
85/LONG-TERM
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 15, 6:09 AM CST, 2 hours 21 minutes before
TXZ229>234-239>247-161100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX
709 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM BAFFIN BAY TO PORT OCONNOR.
ALSO...AN INLAND TROPICAL STORM WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR
VICTORIA...GOLIAD...BEE...JIM WELLS...LIVE OAK AND MCMULLEN
COUNTIES. AN INLAND TROPICAL STORM WIND WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR DUVAL
AND LASALLE COUNTIES. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE
COUNTIES OF ARANSAS...BEE...CALHOUN...GOLIAD...LIVE OAK...MCMULLEN...
REFUGIO...SAN PATRICIO AND VICTORIA.

HIGH SWELLS PRODUCED BY TROPICAL STORM CLAUDETTE WILL CONTINUE TO
AFFECT THE SOUTH TEXAS COAST AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS TODAY. SMALL
CRAFT SHOULD REMAIN IN PORT. WATER LEVELS OVER THE BAYS AND WATERWAYS
ARE AROUND 2 TO 2.5 FEET ABOVE NORMAL...AND WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE
TODAY AND TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY DURING TIME OF HIGH TIDE. THIS
AFTERNOON...STORM TIDE LEVELS BETWEEN 2 AND 4 FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA
LEVEL ARE EXPECTED SOUTH OF ROCKPORT. NORTH OF ROCKPORT...TIDES OF 4
TO 6 FEET ARE EXPECTED.

THE LATEST FORECAST FROM THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IS FOR
HURRICANE CLAUDETTE TO MOVE ONSHORE NEAR ROCKPORT THIS AFTERNOON.
A BRIEF PERIOD OF HURRICANE FORCE WINDS WILL ENTER THE COUNTIES
OF ARANSAS AND REFUGIO. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO
MOVE ACROSS MUCH OF THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE COASTAL BEND THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...AS CLAUDETTE
GENERATES RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES NORTH OF A LINE FROM
ROCKPORT TO ENCINAL...AND LESS THAN 2 INCHES SOUTH OF THIS LINE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

BY WEDNESDAY...TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM CLAUDETTE WILL RANGE FROM
5 TO 8 INCHES NORTH OF THE LINE FROM ROCKPORT TO ENCINAL...WITH 2 TO
4 INCHES SOUTH OF THIS LINE.

CLAUDETTE WILL CONTINUE MOVING WEST ACROSS THE NORTHERN RIO GRANDE
PLAINS ON WEDNESDAY. RAINFALL ON WEDNESDAY COULD BE HEAVY AND CAUSE
LOCALIZED FLOODING. POSSIBLE COASTAL FLOODING AND VERY HIGH SEAS
WILL SLOWLY DIMINISH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND
MOSTLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL EXIT THE
REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR THE COASTAL
BEND.

WC/BB

The radar

The Corpus Christi radar (KCRP), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:46 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 high wind, 4 hurricane (typhoon), 4 flood, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hurricane (Typhoon), Calhoun

When
July 15, 8:30 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where
Calhoun forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
28.439, -96.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hurricane (Typhoon), Refugio

When
July 15, 10:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where
Refugio forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
28.322, -97.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hurricane (Typhoon), San Patricio

When
July 15, 10:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where
San Patricio forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
28.009, -97.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Victoria

When
July 15, 10:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where
Victoria forecast zone
Measured
72 kt (83 mph) measured gust
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
28.796, -96.971 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Inland winds associated with Hurricane Claudette:Victoria County - 83 mph recorded gustLive Oak - 63 mph recorded gustMcMullen - 61 mph recorded gustLa Salle - 53 mph recorded gust

Hurricane (Typhoon), Aransas

When
July 15, 10:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where
Aransas forecast zone
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
28.015, -97.074 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Calhoun

When
July 15, 10:45 AM CST
Where
Calhoun County, Port Lavaca
Rating
F0
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
28.617, -96.633

Brief tornado touchdown associated with Hurricane Claudette. NWS Post Storm Survey Team concluded no direct damage associated with tornado. All damage around the area was associated with Hurricane Force winds from Claudette.

High Wind, Goliad

When
July 15, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Goliad forecast zone
Measured
65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
28.657, -97.426 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Inland winds associated with Hurricane Claudette:Victoria County - 83 mph recorded gustLive Oak - 63 mph recorded gustMcMullen - 61 mph recorded gustLa Salle - 53 mph recorded gust

High Wind, Bee

When
July 15, 12:00 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Bee forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
28.417, -97.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Inland winds associated with Hurricane Claudette:Victoria County - 83 mph recorded gustLive Oak - 63 mph recorded gustMcMullen - 61 mph recorded gustLa Salle - 53 mph recorded gust

High Wind, Live Oak

When
July 15, 2:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Live Oak forecast zone
Measured
55 kt (63 mph) measured gust
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
28.351, -98.125 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Inland winds associated with Hurricane Claudette:Victoria County - 83 mph recorded gustLive Oak - 63 mph recorded gustMcMullen - 61 mph recorded gustLa Salle - 53 mph recorded gust

Flash Flood, Bee

When
July 15, 2:00 PM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Bee County, Beeville
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
28.417, -97.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

County officials reported flooding all across Bee County associated with Hurricane Claudette.

High Wind, McMullen

When
July 15, 4:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
McMullen forecast zone
Measured
53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
28.353, -98.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Inland winds associated with Hurricane Claudette:Victoria County - 83 mph recorded gustLive Oak - 63 mph recorded gustMcMullen - 61 mph recorded gustLa Salle - 53 mph recorded gust

High Wind, La Salle

When
July 15, 9:22 PM CST
Where
La Salle forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
28.345, -99.100 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Inland winds associated with Hurricane Claudette:Victoria County - 83 mph recorded gustLive Oak - 63 mph recorded gustMcMullen - 61 mph recorded gustLa Salle - 53 mph recorded gust

Flood, Bee

When
July 16, 9:15 AM CST to 5:15 PM CST
Where
Bee forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
28.417, -97.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Nueces River at Bluntzer crested at 24.29 feet (flood stage 18.00 feet). The Nueces River at Three Rivers crested at 29.33 feet (flood stage 25.00 feet).The Atascosa River at Whitsett crested at 24.51 feet (flood stage 20.00 feet).The Aransas River at Skidmore crested at 13.62 feet (flood stage 13.00 feet). Associated with rainfall from Hurricane Claudette.

Flood, Live Oak

When
July 16, 7:45 PM CST to July 20, 9:45 PM CST
Where
Live Oak forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
28.351, -98.125 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Nueces River at Bluntzer crested at 24.29 feet (flood stage 18.00 feet). The Nueces River at Three Rivers crested at 29.33 feet (flood stage 25.00 feet).The Atascosa River at Whitsett crested at 24.51 feet (flood stage 20.00 feet).The Aransas River at Skidmore crested at 13.62 feet (flood stage 13.00 feet). Associated with rainfall from Hurricane Claudette.

Flood, Live Oak

When
July 17, 8:45 AM CST to July 19, 4:45 AM CST
Where
Live Oak forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
28.351, -98.125 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Nueces River at Bluntzer crested at 24.29 feet (flood stage 18.00 feet). The Nueces River at Three Rivers crested at 29.33 feet (flood stage 25.00 feet).The Atascosa River at Whitsett crested at 24.51 feet (flood stage 20.00 feet).The Aransas River at Skidmore crested at 13.62 feet (flood stage 13.00 feet). Associated with rainfall from Hurricane Claudette.

Flood, Nueces

When
July 18, 4:00 PM CST to July 25, 2:15 AM CST
Where
Nueces forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
27.735, -97.516 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Nueces River at Bluntzer crested at 24.29 feet (flood stage 18.00 feet). The Nueces River at Three Rivers crested at 29.33 feet (flood stage 25.00 feet).The Atascosa River at Whitsett crested at 24.51 feet (flood stage 20.00 feet).The Aransas River at Skidmore crested at 13.62 feet (flood stage 13.00 feet). Associated with rainfall from Hurricane Claudette.

What these are

Hurricane (Typhoon)
A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 64 knots (74 mph) or more, filed per forecast zone for its wind, and with separate events for its flooding, surge and tornadoes.
High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Texas, 2003Warnings in Texas, July 2003The 2003 hurricane season

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5368916, 5368917, 5368918, 5369176, 5369177, 5369175, 5369178, 5369179, 5369180, 5369183, 5369181, 5369182, 5369184, 5369501, 5369185, 5369502.