Hurricane Carla
 Satellite image of Hurricane Carla on September 10. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 3, 1961 |
| Extratropical | September 13, 1961 |
| Dissipated | September 18, 1961 |
| Category 4 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 145 mph (230 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 927 mbar (hPa); 27.37 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 46 |
| Damage | $442 million (1961 USD) |
| Areas affected | Yucatán Peninsula, Texas, Central United States, Great Lakes region, Canada |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Carla was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Striking the middle Texas coast in September 1961, Carla was the second most intense hurricane on record in Texas, only behind the 1886 Indianola hurricane. The third named storm of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, Carla developed from an area of squally weather in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on September 3. The system was upgraded to a tropical storm on September 5 and reached hurricane intensity the next day. On September 7, Carla entered the Gulf of Mexico, passing northeast of the Yucatán Peninsula. Early on September 10, Carla became a Category 4 hurricane and peaked in intensity a day later with maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour (235 kilometres per hour) and a minimum central pressure of 927 millibars (27.4 inches of mercury). The hurricane made landfall in the afternoon of September 11 near Port O'Connor, Texas with the same wind speed and a slightly higher pressure. Traveling inland, Carla weakened to a tropical storm on September 12 and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on September 13 while centered over southern Oklahoma. Carla's remnants reached the Labrador Sea, Canada and dissipated on September 18, 1961.
While crossing the Yucatán Channel, the outer bands of Carla brought high winds and local flooding in western Cuba and the Yucatán Peninsula. In Texas, sustained winds as high as 140 mph (230 km/h) and a storm surge of 22 feet (6.7 metres) were observed in Port Lavaca. Carla also spawned several tornadoes in the state, including an F4[nb 1] tornado near Galveston which killed eight people.
Throughout Texas, Carla damaged or destroyed over 60,000 buildings and killed 34 people. Several tornadoes also touched down in Louisiana, killing six people and causing additional damage. Heavy rainfall from Carla impacted other states, especially Kansas and Missouri, where flash flooding severely damaged crops and killed six people. Overall, Carla resulted in over $442 million[nb 2] in losses and 46 fatalities. The name Carla was retired following the season.
