Hurricane Opal was a record-breaking, devastating storm that many here in northwest Georgia can tell a tale about. Hurricane Opal will never be forgotten in this Georgia town, with its catastrophic winds and record rainfall. This post, in light of the peak of hurricane season, will be here to serve as a reminder of what hurricanes can do.
Slow Beginnings...
Hurricane Opal (at the time a Tropical Depression) started off as a very slow-moving storm. The storm slowly meandered over Nicaragua and Mexico. Part of this slow movement was caused by very light steering currents (winds that move hurricane and storm systems around). As it slowly emerged from Mexico, it strengthened into a tropical storm as it entered a favorable area known as the Bay of Campeche. As its rainbands organized, the storm drifted at a snail's pace southwest. While in the Bay of Campeche, the storm slowly strengthed into a Category 1 Hurricane. During this process, now Hurricane Opal began to feel the effects of a strong cold front/trough moving east across the United States. This led to the system to turn North East (the opposite way it was going before). As the trough continued to approach, Hurricane Opal sped up as it rode the periphery (edge) of said trough. This is when Hurricane Opal entered an area of unusually high water temperatures. This area of high water temperatures led to rapid intensification of the approach to the United States.
As it rapidly intensified, it shifted slightly more north due to its strong intensity (NOTE: Storms of this intensity are less susceptive to troughs attempting to move them. They basically create their own steering currents.). As Hurricane Opal neared Category 5 status, something called an Eyewall Replacement Cycle (ERC) occurred. This has held back many hurricanes in the past, the most recent example being Hurricane Beryl. Eyewall Replacement Cycles are extremely hard to predict, and we are still unsure what causes them fully, even today. ERCs lead to weakening, due to the core of the storm being replaced by a new one. Hurricane Opal never recovered from this and weakened until landfall.
Once the storm made landfall, it made one final turn north, leading the eye to run through east Alabama. The storm maintained incredible strength well inland due to fast motion and maintained Hurricane Status until it was around Alexander City. After that, Hurricane Opal continued to race north as a Tropical Storm/Depression and brought historical flooding and winds to the eastern United States.
Rainfall...
Hurricane Opal brought over 10" of rain to multiple areas in and around Atlanta. Recorded rain values of up to 18" inches were recorded around Peachtree City (Wikipedia)
As shown by the graphic above, rainfall was of extreme to historic measure across north and west Georgia. 7 - 10" of rain fell here alone, which caused devastating flooding along Dog River.
"In Douglas County, the Dog River near Fairplay overtopped the USGS stream gage by 12 feet. The peak stage was 33.8 feet, with a peak discharge of 59,900 cubic feet per second. This is well beyond the 0.2 percent annual exceedence probability (500-year) flood."
A paper by Daculaweather.com shows the Dog River near Fairplay flooded so severely, that the 500-year flood mark was surpassed. This means that 1 in 500-year flooding ensued due to Opal. Damages from Opal accounted for over 5 Billion USD today.
Winds...
Hurricane Opal was best known for its destructive winds in Northern Georgia. Areas around Atlanta recorded winds of up to 80 miles per hour! Winds of this magnitude, even in tropical cyclones, are especially rare. These winds brought many trees down, damaged or even destroyed roofs, and even moved cars. This, along with extreme rainfall, killed 14 in Georgia alone. Georgia saw the most deaths than any other state from Opal.
The winds also cut widespread power. After the storm, a spokesman for Georgia Power said this:
"In addition to power lines snapped by falling trees, Georgia Power lost 1,200 power poles to high winds, said spokesman Mike Tyndall. Even with 450 extra line workers borrowed from utilities in the Carolinas, Florida and Indiana, it will take until Monday to completely repair the 10,000 downed power lines and restore service to the state, Tyndall said."
This level of historic rain and wind led to a "perfect storm" of power outages across the state. Power loss leads to limited communication between Family, Friends, Police, etc. This historic power loss also crippled the National Weather Service from being able to send warnings from the approaching storm. Despite people knowing the incoming threat; people never took precautions due to "Georgia is so far north, we won't get anything." This ultimately led to 14 people in the state to lose their lives.
Exclusive Recount...
Long-time resident Natalie, who lived in the sandhill area during Opal's wrath, gave us a look at what Opal looked like in her eyes. Note how the destruction of Opal looked through someone who really saw it:
"The trailer was cracking and popping and swaying... Houses were covered in trees... Houses were demolished, people were walking on the debris of their homes... Ever since then, I was scared to death... It was just... devastation"
Truly a terrifying experience. This is a part of the reason Opal is remembered. The real destruction it caused, and the scar it created, will never be forgotten by the victims of such a terrifying storm. Because of this, there is clear room for a longer recall of the terrifying storm known as Opal. I have been working hard to find someone who would be willing to do an interview, and I am pleased to announce that a Detailed Interview with Natalie will be released as part 2 of this post! Make sure to stay up to date when this will be released by becoming a member or Subscribing to our newsletter today!
In short...
Hurricane Opal was a horrific storm for those who experienced it. Those who did received a scar, it will last a lifetime. Through her winds or her rain, nearly the entire state of Georgia felt the wrath of one of the worst tropical storms in Georgia's history.
Author: Remington Diedrich
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