Hurricane Hailey

**Hurricane Hailey** was the eighth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the third most powerful storm of the season, behind Hurricane Violet and Hurricane Sarah. It first made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane at Guadeloupe on August 9, 2018, resulting in a dozen deaths across the nation and spawning several tornadoes which happened not to strike any dwellings. It then struck the Dominican Republic as a major hurricane, causing an estimated 192 deaths across Dominica overall. The storm made another landfall in Cuba as a weakened tropical storm before it entered the Gulf of Mexico it strengthened into a high-end Category 4 hurricane with maximum winds of 155 mph and minimum central pressure of 922 mbar. It held this strength as it made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, at 8:10am CDT on August 15, 2018.

The storm surge from Hailey partially topped the levees that protect New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain. Sections of the city in the vicinity of these breaches were subsequently flooded by the lake's waters. This and other major damage to the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama made Hailey one of the most destructive and costliest tropical cyclones in the history of the western hemisphere. Additionally, its intensity of 922 millibars and sustained winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) at landfall tied Hailey with Hurricane Andrew as the fifth-most intense landfalling hurricane in the contiguous United States by pressure, as well as the fourth strongest by wind speed, respectively.

The official combined (direct and indirect) death toll now stands at 423, a very deadly storm that was seen by some as a testament of improvements to the areas that had been similarly hit by Katrina in 2005. As of December 20, 2018, more than 800 people remain unaccounted for, so the death toll may still grow. As of November 22, 2018, 500 of those missing were either in heavily-damaged areas or were disabled and "feared dead,"

By early September, people were being forcibly evacuated, mostly by bus to neighboring states. The damage is estimated to be about $35 billion by the JMC (with other estimates ranging from $40 to $120 billion), making Hailey the sixth-most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history.

## **Meteorological history**

A tropical wave and a broad low-pressure area associated with it exited the west coast of Africa on July 30. Although deep convection was minimal on satellite imagery, the system possessed a well-defined low-to-mid-level circulation. After crossing several National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoys early on August 6, it was determined that the system developed into Tropical Depression Eight at 1200 UTC on that same day, while located about halfway between Cape Verde and the Lesser Antilles. The depression maintained a track due northwestward, entering an environment where upper-level winds reduced to a favorable level, causing strengthening and allowing deep convection to increase.

At 0000 UTC on August 7, the depression had intensified into Tropical Storm Hailey. A reconnaissance flight around that time reported winds of 71 mph (114 km/h), confirming the storm was strengthening. The storm reached hurricane strength around 06:00 UTC the following day. Early on August 9, Hailey struck Guadeloupe with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h). Land interaction with the island weakened the storm slightly, though it would soon re-strengthen. By August 10, Hailey strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane, the third of the season, as it neared the Dominican Republic. Twelve hours after becoming a major hurricane, the storm made landfall at Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic around 01:10 UTC on August 11, with sustained winds of 125 mph (201 km/h). The following day, Hailey tracked over eastern Cuba as a significantly weakened tropical storm, and it gradually began to curve west. Favorable conditions, marked by very warm sea surface temperatures as high as 86 °F (30 °C) and the presence of a large anticyclone over the system, allowed Hailey to strengthen to hurricane status for a second time while just northwest of Cuba, despite proximity to land. Hailey took a northwesterly course throughout its trek across the Gulf of Mexico.

Rapid intensification occurred during the 24 hours after entering the Gulf of Mexico due in part to its movement over the warm sea surface temperatures of the Loop Current. An eyewall replacement cycle disrupted the intensification but led to an almost doubling in size. On August 14, the storm was once again upgraded to Category 3 intensity. A second period of rapid intensification going into August 15 led to Hailey reaching it peak strength as a high-end Category 4 storm by 12 a.m. CDT (06:00 UTC) August 15. Maximum sustained winds reached 155 mph (245 km/h), and its central pressure bottomed out at 922 mbar (hPa, 27.22 inHg). Effects could be felt along the Gulf Coast. The center of Hailey was about 135 miles (215 km) away from the mouth of the Mississippi River. Tropical storm-force winds extended 249 statute miles (401 km) away from the center, and hurricane-force winds extended about 108 miles (174 km) away.

Around 8:10 AM CDT on August 15, Hailey made landfall at its peak strength near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Making its way through central Louisiana, high winds cut a swath of damage that affected almost the entire state. Most communities in Plaquemines, Jefferson, Lafourche, Terrebonne, and Saint Mary Parishes were severely damaged by storm surge and the strong winds of the eyewall, which also grazed eastern New Orleans. Because of the size of the storm, extremely damaging eyewall winds and the strong northeastern quadrant of the storm pushed very high storm surges onshore, smashing the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast, including towns in Mississippi such as Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Gautier and Pascagoula, and, in Alabama to a lesser extent, Bayou La Batre.

Hailey continued to affect the central U.S. as it moved north, and was last distinguishable over the Northeastern US on August 18. Before being absorbed by an approaching frontal boundary, Hailey's last known position was near Scranton, Pennsylvania. 170 mm (1.97 to 6.69 in) of rain fell in 12 hours; numerous wind gusts from 31 to 61 mph (50 to 98 km/h) were reported across the region. At 11 p.m. EDT on August 18 (0300 UTC, August 19), U.S. government weather officials announced that the center of the remnant low of what was Hailey had been completely absorbed by the frontal boundary in the Northeastern United States, with no discernible circulation. The Jarrell Meteorological Center's last public advisory on Hailey was issued at 11 p.m. EDT on August 18. The remnant system crossed over New England before entering the Atlantic.