Hurricane Bret (1999)

Bret, which formed in the Bay of Campeche, came ashore on central Padre Island, Texas, midway between Brownsville and Corpus Christi, at 0000 UTC on August 23, 1999 (7 p.m. CDT on August 22).¹ NHC put its winds at landfall at 100 knots (115 mph), a Category 3 hurricane, with a 951 mb pressure.¹ Bret was a small hurricane. Most of its hurricane-force winds fell on Kenedy County, a sparsely populated stretch of coast, and its core missed Brownsville and Corpus Christi.¹

Gauges measured gusts of 85 knots (98 mph) at the Falfurrias airport and 78 knots (90 mph) at Rincon del San Jose on Padre Island, where the instrument failed before the center passed. NHC cites a report of 3 to 5 feet of water at Port Mansfield Pass.¹ Radar estimated more than 30 inches of rain in Kenedy County, and Aransas Pass measured 12.60 inches. NWS Corpus Christi reported widespread flash flooding in seven South Texas counties, including Nueces, San Patricio and Aransas.^1,2 A tornado in Aransas County on August 22 destroyed a recreational vehicle, a barn and a shed.² NWS Corpus Christi reported $400,000 to $500,000 in damage to homes and businesses in the Corpus Christi area, about $1 million in all for the area, and about $1 million more at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. NHC estimated total damage at $60 million and reported no deaths.^2,1