Remembering Powerful Hurricane Opal
Hurricane Opal made landfall just east of Pensacola, Fla., 15 years ago today. A Category 3 hurricane, Opal smashed ashore with sustained winds of 115 mph.
Winds were sustained at 150 mph in the northeast Gulf of Mexico just 12 hours before the storm made landfall. Wind gusts reached 144 mph near Fort Walton Beach, Fla., as the storm approached
Opal's heavy rainfall doused parts of Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi with 4 to 8 inches of rain in a matter of 36 hours. Ellyson, Fla., was inundated by 15.45 inches of rain.
A destructive storm surge, as high as 14 feet, accompanied the storm as well. Severe damage occurred at Pensacola Beach, where the fishing pier was demolished. The storm surge also washed out the bottom floor of a motel, and completely destroyed a restaurant.
Opal charged inland, remaining a hurricane until reaching into northern Alabama 12 hours later. By October 5th, Opal had weakened to a tropical depression, but still continued to wreak havoc.
The storm spawned tornadoes in Virginia and Maryland, while intense winds damaged buildings and left nearly all of Macon County, N.C., without power. The remnants of Opal dumped between 2 and 4 inches of rain over the mid-Atlantic, with 6.69 inches of rainfall in Wawayanda, N.J.
Approximately one dozen deaths in the U.S. were blamed both directly and indirectly on Opal, most of which were due to falling trees. The hurricane was also responsible for an estimated $3 billion worth of damages.
Before menacing the eastern Gulf Coast, Opal left behind devastation on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and Guatemala. Forming on September 27, 1995, the storm proceeded over the region as a tropical depression during the next few days, unleashing flooding rainfall that killed at least 50 people.
The following year, the name "Opal" was retired, and was replaced by "Olga" for the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season.
