page_title: Hurricane Edith (1971)
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Edith (1971) / Impact / United States
caption_attribution_description: English: Storm total rainfall map of Hurricane Edith during September 1971.
context_page_description: Hurricane Edith was the strongest hurricane to form during the 1971 Atlantic hurricane season and formerly the southernmost landfalling Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic until 2007. Edith also stands as one of the only Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes to not have its name retired, next to 1953's Hurricane Carol, 1961's Hurricane Esther and 2005's Hurricane Emily. Edith developed from a tropical wave on September 5 and quickly strengthened into a hurricane in the Caribbean Sea. Edith rapidly intensified on September 9 and made landfall on Cape Gracias a Dios as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It quickly lost intensity over Central America and after briefly entering the Gulf of Honduras it crossed the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. After moving across the Gulf of Mexico a trough turned the storm to the northeast and Edith, after having restrengthened while accelerating towards the coast, made landfall on Louisiana with winds of 105 mph on September 16. Edith steadily weakened over land and dissipated over Georgia on September 18.
  The hurricane killed two people when it passed near Aruba.
context_section_description: Two stations in Texas recorded sustained tropical force winds, and Galveston reported a peak wind gust of 53 mph (85 km/h). While moving past the state, Edith produced above normal tides of over 4 feet (1.2 m) in locations, which flooded a portion of Highway 87. The storm dropped light to moderate amounts of rainfall peaking at 3.5 inches (89 mm) in Sabine Pass. The passage of Hurricane Edith resulted in downed trees and power lines, and damage totaling US$180,000 (1971 dollars, $900,000 in 2006 dollars).
  Off the coast of Louisiana, the hurricane wrecked three boats, but all the occupants were safely rescued. While making landfall in Louisiana, Edith resulted in above normal tides of up to 9.7 feet (2.9 m) above normal at Cypremont Point near Morgan City. The highest winds reported by a land station were 69 mph (111 km/h) at Cameron, where a wind gust of 96 mph (155 km/h) was also reported. However, due to the lack of recording instruments near the hurricane's landing point, whether higher winds occurred there is not known, although likely. Rainfall was moderate across Louisiana, including amounts of over 8 inches (200 mm) in the southwestern portion of the state. A strong rainband well ahead of the hurricane, combined with the intrusion of dry air into the hurricane's circulation, produced 16 tornadoes from Louisiana to Alabama. An F3 tornado touched down in the eastern residential suburbs of Baton Rouge, causing heavy property damage totaling $2.5 million (1971 dollars, $15.8 million in 2019 dollars) along its intermittent 7 mile (11 km) path. The tornado also injured three people. An F2 tornado in Tangipahoa Parish caused $250,000 in damage (1971 dollars, $1.58 million in 2019 dollars) along its 4-mile (6 km) path, while an F1 tornado in St. Martin Parish injured 6 people on its 3-mile (5 km) path. The hurricane caused extensive damage to the sugar cane crop in southwestern Louisiana. About a month after Edith struck the United States, President Richard Nixon declared portions of Louisiana as a disaster area, which allocated relief funds to aid the affected citizens.
  In Mississippi, wind gusts peaked at 70 mph (112 km/h) in Hattiesburg, with multiple locations reporting tropical-storm-force winds. Additionally, Edith produced moderate rainfall peaking at 6.15 inches (156 mm) in Liberty. In Alabama, the storm caused light rains, moderate wind gusts, and a storm tide of 2.7 feet (0.8 m) in Mobile. Edith spawned four tornadoes in Alabama, three of which were F2 tornadoes. Two touched down in Baldwin County; one destroyed two homes and damaged several others, and the other destroyed two mobile homes, a few barns, and damaged ten houses. Two tornadoes also touched down in Washington County, one of which destroyed several small buildings and downed a few trees. In Florida, Edith produced slightly above-normal tides and light rain. It spawned a tornado in Pensacola, Florida, injuring one person and inflicting $25,000 in damage (1971 dollars, $125,000 in 2006 dollars). Damage throughout the United States totaled $25 million (1971 dollars, $158 million in 2019 dollars), primarily from crop damage in southwest Louisiana. No deaths were reported in the United States.
caption: Rainfall from Edith
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