Hurricane Bret: A major hurricane landfall in south Texas

Hurricane Bret was the first major hurricane to form during the 1999 Atlantic tropical cyclone season. Bret strengthened to a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale before making landfall in south Texas. Despite its strength, Hurricane Bret was overshadowed by Hurricane Floyd and Dennis, storms notorious for their devastating affect on the lives and property of Atlantic coastal residents. Although an intense tropical cyclone, Hurricane Bret’s affects on the coastal residents of South Texas were muted by its landfall location and storm scale. In short, the disastrous effects of Hurricane Bret on the population of the region were less than expected. Disaster surveys by meteorologists from both the Brownsville and Corpus Christi National Weather Service Forecast Offices (WFOs) confirmed this assertion. This study will examine the life cycle of Hurricane Bret and focus especially on the hours before landfall. Evidence and observations of Bret’s strength, intensity and damage potential at and around landfall will be presented, as well as an explanation for the limited amount of physical damage wrought by the storm.