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Hurricane Chantal (1989)

Hurricane Chantal was a Category 1 hurricane at its peak, with 81 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 984 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 8 of the cities we track; the strongest was Beaumont, TX, with a modeled peak gust of 77 mph.

Peak strength81 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 1
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
8
LandfallsFirst August 1, 1989
1
Lowest pressure
984 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Chantal’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. August 1, 1989, Category 1 at 81 mph, about 37 miles from Beaumont, TX

Modeled winds at cities (8)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Beaumont, TX77 mph63 mph35 milesAug 1, 1989, 6:45 AM CDT
League City, TX63 mph51 mph34 milesAug 1, 1989, 6:45 AM CDT
Pasadena, TX62 mph50 mph27 milesAug 1, 1989, 6:45 AM CDT
Lake Charles, LA57 mph46 mph81 milesAug 1, 1989, 6:45 AM CDT
Pearland, TX57 mph46 mph39 milesAug 1, 1989, 6:45 AM CDT
Houston, TX54 mph44 mph29 milesAug 1, 1989, 6:45 AM CDT
Sugar Land, TX49 mph40 mph49 milesAug 1, 1989, 6:45 AM CDT
Conroe, TX48 mph39 mph4 milesAug 1, 1989, 12:45 PM CDT

What happened

Chantal formed in the Gulf of Mexico north of the Yucatan Peninsula on July 30, 1989, and came ashore at High Island, Texas, between Galveston and Sea Rim State Park, near 1300 UTC (8 a.m. CDT) on August 1 as a Category 1 hurricane.1,2,3 NHC's best track gives 70 knots (81 mph) and a 986 mb central pressure at landfall.3

Galveston measured sustained winds of 60 knots (69 mph) and a gust of 71 knots (82 mph), the highest winds reported at a coastal station.2 Tides reached 7.0 feet above mean sea level at High Island, 4 feet at Sabine Pass and 3.8 feet at Kemah.2 Houston's Hobby Airport recorded 8.58 inches of rain in 24 hours, and unofficial storm totals reached 20 inches in Friendswood and 16 inches at Clear Lake.2 The rain caused serious flooding, mainly in Galveston, Brazoria and Fort Bend counties.2

Wind damaged some roofs on homes, carports and mobile homes, and about 3,000 homes in Texas had water or wind damage.2 NHC estimated total damage near $100 million.2 NHC attributes 13 deaths to Chantal. Two were drownings in floodwaters in College Station, and the other 11 were at sea off Louisiana.4

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Chantal, 30 July to 3 August 1989 (scanned page 1)
  2. 2. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Chantal, 30 July to 3 August 1989 (scanned page 3)
  3. 3. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), 1851 to 2025
  4. 4. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Preliminary Report, Hurricane Chantal, 30 July to 3 August 1989 (scanned page 4)

Best track (16 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Jul 30, 12:00 UTCTropical depression23 mph1011 mb22.5°N, 90.0°W
Jul 30, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1010 mb23.5°N, 90.2°W
Jul 31, 00:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1009 mb24.4°N, 90.5°W
Jul 31, 06:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1004 mb25.4°N, 91.0°W
Jul 31, 12:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph995 mb26.2°N, 91.7°W
Jul 31, 18:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph993 mb27.1°N, 92.2°W
Aug 1, 00:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane75 mph991 mb27.9°N, 92.8°W
Aug 1, 06:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane81 mph987 mb28.7°N, 93.5°W
Aug 1, 12:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane81 mph984 mb29.5°N, 94.3°W
Aug 1, 13:00 UTC (landfall)Category 1 hurricane81 mph986 mb29.6°N, 94.4°W
Aug 1, 18:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph993 mb30.2°N, 95.2°W
Aug 2, 00:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1000 mb30.8°N, 96.1°W
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