Hurricane Audrey (1957)

Audrey formed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and came ashore between Sabine Pass, Texas, and Johnsons Bayou, Louisiana, around 7 a.m. CST on June 27, 1957.^1,2 It was a strong Category 3 hurricane with 110-knot (127 mph) winds and a 946 mb central pressure at landfall.^1,3

High water marks reached 12 to 14 feet above mean sea level at Cameron, Creole and Grand Chenier, and 10 to 12 feet along the rest of the Cameron Parish coast.¹ Water rose 8 to 11 feet on the coasts of Vermilion, Iberia and St. Mary parishes, and 6 to 8 feet along the Calcasieu River, including downtown Lake Charles.¹ At Cameron, waves on top of the surge reached as high as 20 feet above mean sea level.² The Weather Bureau at Lake Charles measured a peak gust of 97 mph, and Sulphur city services reported a gust of 105 mph.¹ Tornadoes touched down in New Orleans and near Arnaudville.^2,1

About 100,000 buildings were damaged and several thousand destroyed.² In Cameron and lower Vermilion parishes, 90 to 95 percent of buildings were damaged beyond repair.² Wood-frame houses floated inland, some landing many miles away.² The National Weather Service's Louisiana Hurricane History puts damage in Louisiana at $120 million.² NWS Lake Charles counts at least 500 deaths, many of them in the surge in Cameron and Vermilion parishes, and says the exact number will never be known.¹