Hurricane Celia (1970)

Celia formed in the northwest Caribbean, crossed the Gulf and made landfall near Aransas Pass, Texas, on August 3, 1970.¹ NHC's best track puts landfall at 2100 UTC (4 p.m. CDT) with 120-knot (138 mph) winds, a Category 4 hurricane, and a 944 mb central pressure.²

NWS Corpus Christi says wind, not storm surge, did most of the damage. Its office measured 125 mph sustained winds and a 161 mph gust, and gusts at Aransas Pass and Robstown were estimated at 180 mph.¹ The surge reached 9.2 feet on the beach at Port Aransas, and tides ran 3 to 5 feet from Corpus Christi north to Galveston. Eight tornadoes touched down in South Texas.¹

Damage was worst around Corpus Christi Bay in Nueces, San Patricio and Aransas counties. About 70 percent of homes in Corpus Christi were damaged, as were 90 percent of homes and businesses in Portland and 75 percent in Port Aransas.¹ Across the Coastal Bend about 9,000 homes were destroyed, 13,850 had major damage and 41,800 had minor damage. Another 252 businesses were destroyed, and mobile homes were torn apart.¹ Farther inland, Celia caused $1 million in damage in Del Rio.¹ NWS Corpus Christi puts property and crop damage at $453.8 million and counts 15 deaths and 466 injuries in South Texas.¹