Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey is forecast to bring a catastrophic, long-term storm surge and rainfall event to the Central Texas Coast for several days. Please take precautions immediately and heed guidance from the local authorities. The Central Texas Coast, including Port Lavaca and Matagorda Bay, may see some of the greatest impacts from Harvey.

Time series of storm tide (surge + tide) levels at Port Lavaca above Mean Sea Level (MSL) from 1900-2017 (118 years). Hurricane Harvey likely generated a 10-12 foot storm tide near Port Lavaca, although the highest observed level reported was 7.0 feet above MSL on Sat Aug 26 at 3:48AM CDT. Harvey generated the highest storm tide at Port Lavaca since Hurricane Carla in 1961, and the 5th highest storm tide since 1919. Observations are graphed chronologically from oldest (left) to newest (right). Absence of low-magnitude storm tide events before Ella (1958) is influenced by under-reporting, and does not necessarily indicate a lack of actual storm tide events. ​

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Storm Surge Multimedia

​Tropical Storm Bill (2015)

Unnamed Hurricane (1945)

The two images above are taken from The Galveston Daily News, August 29, 1945, Page 1
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The two images above are taken from The Galveston Daily News, August 29, 1945, Page 2