Hurricane Alice (June 1954)
| Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
Track map of Hurricane Alice
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| Formed | June 24, 1954 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | June 26, 1954 |
| Highest winds |
1-minute sustained: 110 mph (175 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | ≤ 975 mbar (hPa); 28.79 inHg |
| Fatalities | 55–153 |
| Damage | $2 million (1954 USD) |
| Areas affected | Mexico, Texas |
| Part of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Alice was the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the month of June since reliable records began in the 1850s. While not a major hurricane, the storm was linked to catastrophic flooding in southern Texas and northern Mexico, especially along the Rio Grande and its tributaries. The third tropical cyclone and first hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season, Alice was one of two storms to receive the same name that year, the other being an unusual post-season hurricane that persisted into the new year of 1955, becoming one of only two January hurricanes on record (the other having formed in 1938). The first Alice developed rather suddenly on June 24 over the Bay of Campeche, though it may well have formed earlier but went undetected due to limited surface weather observations. Moving northwestward, Alice strengthened rapidly as it neared the Mexican coastline, becoming a hurricane early the next day. By midday on June 25, the hurricane reached peak winds of 110 miles per hour (177 km/h) before moving inland well south of the U.S.–Mexico border. The storm struck an area with few inhabitants and caused relatively minimal impacts from wind near the point of landfall and in southern Texas.
As it moved inland, however, Alice produced prolific rains along and near the Rio Grande, resulting in some of the worst flooding ever seen in parts of northern Mexico and southern Texas; in some areas, the flooding amounted to a one-in-2,000-year event. The Pecos River crested at 96.24 ft (29.33 m), which joined with the Rio Grande to produce significant flooding. The floods destroyed bridges and dikes and flooded many cities along the inner reaches of the river, which reached its highest water levels since 1865. As the river overflowed its banks, floods breached the dikes at Piedras Negras, Coahuila, destroying large sections of the town. Other communities in Mexico reported significant flood damage. In the United States, damage was heaviest in Ozona, Texas, where the floods killed 15 people and caused $2 million in damage (1954 USD). Rainfall peaked at over 24.07 in (611 mm), most of which fell in a 24‑hour period. In all, flooding from Hurricane Alice killed at least 55 people, including 17 in the U.S. and 38 in Mexico, though many deaths in rural Mexico may have gone unreported; the total death toll could have exceeded 150.
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Wikipedia