Hurricane Humberto (2007)

Hurricane Humberto

Category 1 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Tropical Storm Humberto rapidly intensifying while nearing the Texas coast on September 12
Formed	September 12, 2007
Dissipated	September 14, 2007
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 90 mph (150 km/h)
Lowest pressure	985 mbar (hPa); 29.09 inHg
Fatalities	1 indirect
Damage	$50 million (2007 USD)
Areas affected	Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, The Carolinas
Part of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Humberto was a minimal hurricane that formed and intensified faster than any other North Atlantic tropical cyclone on record before landfall. Developing on September 12, 2007, in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, the tropical cyclone rapidly strengthened and struck High Island, Texas, with winds of about 90 mph (150 km/h) early on September 13. It steadily weakened after moving ashore, and on September 14 it began dissipating over northwestern Georgia as it interacted with an approaching cold front.

Damage was fairly light, estimated at approximately $50 million (2007 USD). Precipitation peaked at 14.13 inches (358.9 mm), while wind gusts to 85 mph (137 km/h) were reported. The heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding, which damaged or destroyed dozens of homes, and closed several highways. Trees and power lines were downed, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers. The hurricane caused one fatality in the State of Texas. Additionally, as the storm progressed inland, rainfall was reported throughout the Southeast United States.

The origins of Humberto are from the remnants of a frontal trough—the same that spawned Tropical Storm Gabrielle—that moved offshore south Florida on September 5. The combination of a weak surface trough and an upper-level low pressure system produced disorganized showers and thunderstorms from western Cuba into the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Tracking slowly west-northwestward, unfavorable wind shear initially inhibited tropical cyclone development. By late on September 11, environmental conditions became more favorable, and the following morning convection increased over the disturbance. Tracking around the western periphery of a mid-level ridge, the system turned on a slow northwest drift and quickly organized. Radar imagery reported loose banding features, and buoy data indicated the presence of a surface circulation; based on the observations, the National Hurricane Center classified the system as Tropical Depression Nine, while located roughly 60 miles (100 km) southeast of Matagorda, Texas.