Hurricane Alicia: Her Story Today

Twenty five years ago the eye of Hurricane Alicia made landfall along the upper Texas coast. Although we've been threatened by many storms since then, Alicia is still the last major hurricane to hit this area with winds over 110 mph.

How much do you remember about Hurricane Alicia? Take our online quiz.

Have we learned anything over the past 25 years? The traffic jam we witnessed during Hurricane Rita in 2005 would suggest many of us still need to develop a hurricane plan.

Alicia caused about $2 billion in damage in 1983. New development along the coast and throughout southeast Texas would put the damage costs substantially higher if a similar storm hit the same location today.

It only takes one storm. Forget the hurricane forecasts. Alicia developed during a year in which only four storms formed all season!

This Sunday night, May 25, the Eyewitness News weather team takes a look back at Hurricane Alicia in a special report at 10:35 PM.

Comments

[Robin Dunlap]

I Was eleven years old when Alicia hit and was living in the small coastal town of Baycliff Village. My family and I had evacuated to San Antonio when a hurricane threatened earlier in the season, But since it turned out to be for no reason..My dad decided we were staying put this time. I lived ten streets from Galviston Bay and have to say that was the scariest night of my life.

[Rhiannon Taylor]

I was only 4 years old living in Baytown. The only thing I remember is a helicopter telling us to leave. We went to stay with my grandmother in Houston. I never went back to Baytown. My dad says they went back to our house by boat, and everything was gone. They only found 1 picture of me and my baby blanket. I know live north of Austin. We only really get tornados here.

I was 10 when Alicia hit Houston. I remember my mom having my one brother that was still living at home my sister and I and herself all stay in the living room. I remember the clean up of the yard and watching our next door neighbors tree uproot. My brother going outside and video taping.

I went to Galveston today and I do not remember Alicia doing that kind of damage as Ike did. Could be because I was 10 and am now 36 and just didn't pay attention. I do know that what memories I had from Alicia helped me to keep my children calm during this hurricane. At that time we lived right by Hobby Airport and now I live in deer park. Honestly I have no desire to leave this area with the threats we have of tropical storms or hurricanes. This is my home and always will be. That is part of living in the houston area.

[Evelyn]

I was 15 when Alicia hit, It was my first time ever in that kind of situation, I was asleep and my father told me and my two younger stepbrothers to come into the living room, we were all sitting on the couch when a tree fell right down into the houst where we were sleeping. We stayed in the living room until the next day huddle up together, what a scary moment that I will never forget. Ike was really minor compared to Alicia she will be a hurricane I will never forget.

[Digi]

Does anyone have any further information about Baytown? specifically the area around 228 E Archer Rd... We've had no word...

[Marc Floyd]

I was 15 living with my parents in Katy when Hurricane Alicia came through. Even though I have been in the Florida Keys since 1995 and have been through a number of storms here I vividly remember Alicia. Our friends from low lying east Houston came to stay with us and we were without power for 2 days. They were without power for 2 weeks. I remember stepping outside during the middle of the storm and almost being blown into the pool. My parents were concerned about flood waters and the windows of the house possibly being knocked out. The memory of Hurricane Alicia I believe prepared me for living in a very hurricane prone area. Although we only got tropical storm force winds and minimal damage from Ike here, my prayers go to all in southeat Texas during this time of assessment and recovery.

[Celina]

I remember Alicia. I was only 8 years old and we just moved that summer, to Houston, from Lubbock. We lived in Camden Park, off F.M. 1960. We didn't know one bit about hurricane preperations (not many Hurricanes in Lubbock) and just went along with what everyone else in our neighborhood were doing. I remember the storm hit and looking out the windows and seeing the trees literally swaying from one end to the other. I also remember seeing tornados off in the horizon. I don't recall if we lost power or not, I assume we did. I do remember playing outside in the water that was rushing down the street when the eye passed over. It was so erie looking up at the clear blue sky and hearing the rumbling of growling thunder in the distance. As the black clouds began to appear we ran inside and went through round 2! I can't believe my parents allowed us to play in that rushing water where we could have been swept away or bitten by a snake or something. I guess we were so naive and innocent back then. I am now married and live in San Antonio but I grew up in Houston and graduated from Spring High School. I consider Houston my home and I will never forget Hurricane Alicia. My thoughts and prayers are with my fellow Houstonians as they begin to clean up and move on from Ike.

[Abby]

I was nine, living in North Houston, off the Hardy toll road / Aldine Westfield area. I remember that it felt like the storm lasted for days, but in reality it was all night and the early morning. Our streets flooded, with water up to the porch. We were without lights and water for several days, felt like weeks. It was very rough, using the camp stove to cook all our meals. I also remember it was extremely hot after the storm left. When we finally got utilities back, we all were anxious to have a bath and air conditioning!

[Cathy]

With Ike just hours away from making landfall, I'm reminded of Alicia. I was 17 and packing for my freshman year of college at UT. I don't remember a lot of coverage leading up to storm, and now I understand that's because the hurricane formed and made landfall so quickly. (Or it was because I was 17 and in my own world!) I lived in West Houston just off I-10 and what's now Beltway 8. Alicia hit before dawn. In the predawn light we could see the trees being blown and prayed they wouldn't come crashing through our house. Then the eye passed over us and everthing was perfectly still...no wind at all...kind of creepy. We were fortunate in that our home was spared any damage, but many neighbors had giant limbs or entire trees split their homes in two. Our street flooded, and my brothers made good use of it by "water skiing" on a board being pulled by a bicycle! Since we had no power, many families pulled their grills to the front yard. We had huge block "parties" as everyone cooked up food that would otherwise perish. It was so hot and humid as I packed using a flashlight. Thankfully we had running water and were able to shower often to stayed cool. We left for Austin before power was restored. One good thing about losing power for about a week was that everyone was outside (it was too warm to stay inside), and we got to know all of our neighbors a lot better!

[Suzi]

I remember the night Hurricane Alicia hit well. My cousin (15 yrs old) had just died and I would be 13 right after Hurricane Alicia hit. My family lived in a trailer home on 2 acres of land right outside of Dayton, TX.
The night it hit land my dad & I were watching to the south out of our living room window as the winds and rain increased. Our boat flipped over and we saw a funnel cloud dip out of the sky. As another funnel started to spiral in the southern sky my dad rounded up my mom, two sisters and me. The funnel never touched down but that moment dad decided we would run across the street in the pouring rain to my aunt & uncle's wood home.
My sisters were 11 and 10 years at the time and the 11 year old was small for her age. Mom & Dad placed the 11 year old in between them and mom had me on her right and dad had the 10 year old on his left. As we ran through wind and rain I remember distinctly my 11 year old sister was flying up in the wind even with mom & dad's death grip on her. We all made it across safe but soaked to wait out the storm.
When morning came we saw our front door was blown in, the boat flipped across our second acre of land and our street was holding water but not flooding at this point although the ditches were full. Us kids found it fun to stomp through the ditches as mom stopped us because there might be snakes.
My grandparents in Baytown were without electricty for a couple of weeks after the storm although the houses on the opposite side of their street all had power. Our subdivision ended up flooding after the storm from the floodgates being released further north of us so we had to leave and find a hotel for a few days. We all survived with minimal loss.

[Dean]

I only got 70% on the test. But I didn't see any t.v. after the storm for almost 2 weeks and very little before it hit. If I remember it right, Alicia formed close to the coast in the gulf. We lived in Brownwood in Baytown and were told we needed to leave, we packed and stored things in top shelves in closets and in the attic (useless) no time for t.v.
The day after the storm we tried to get to our house , we weren't allowed, too dangerous.
Living in a red cross shelter, a school in Baytown, and later, going to Memeorial Baptist Church in Baytown, because school was about to start and we needed a new "home". We felt like cattle being herded, but thank God we had a place to go.
We went back to our house and salvaged what we could......it's a long story, but I remember the after effects well. We lost everything. IN A HURRICNANE, TAKE ALL YOUR PICTURES!
Brownwood is now a Nature Center. The last time I went there a year or so ago, I could walk down the street I lived on, MacAurther, overrun with weeds, and at that time the foundation of our house was still there. (the house was intact after the storm but torn down for the nature center) That was an erie feeling, standing in a yard I mowed, now with no house! Remembering looking at the stars from the porch, good and bad memories flooding me like the subdivision was flooded. Remembering wading in water to get to it after the storm.
Allison flooded my house in La Porte...just a ½ an inch or so.
I hate storms that start with 'A's.

[Michael]

My parents always talk about Alicia. Its one of my favorite stories they tell. I was born 3years later so the only memories I have of Alicia are stories and pictures. Alicia is one hurricane that always catches my attention for some reason...I am always looking for sat images or radar images from the storm...reading the reports. I know this is going to be a great special sunday.

[Kristin H.]

I got 80% on the quiz! And I was only about 3 years old when Alicia hit! I still remember bits and pieces from staying at a shelter to coming home to a big flood (Angleton) , and no more Drive-In because of tornadoes.