PRELIMINARY STORM REPORT...TROPICAL STORM GRACE
ISSUED BY THE JAMAICA BEACH WEATHER OBSERVATORY
10:00 AM CDT FRI SEP 5 2003

THE FOLLOWING REPORT SUMMARIZES WEATHER AND TIDE CONDITIONS
OBSERVED AT THE JAMAICA BEACH WEATHER OBSERVATORY DURING
TROPICAL STORM GRACE WHICH MADE LANDAFLL BETWEEN FREEPORT
AND JAMAICA BEACH, TX (NEAR SAN LUIS PASS) ON SUNDAY,
AUGUST 31, 2003:

A. WIND DATA...

JAMAICA BEACH WEATHER OBSERVATORY (JBHT2)

   SUN AUG 31 2003:

   MAX 2-MIN...160 DEGREES 25 MPH AT 0806 CDT AUG 31 2003
   PEAK GUST...160 DEGREES 30 MPH AT 0805 CDT AUG 31 2003

   MON SEP 01 2003:

   MAX 2-MIN...180 DEGREES 28 MPH AT 0432 CDT SEP 01 2003*
   PEAK GUST...180 DEGREES 33 MPH AT 0432 CDT SEP 01 2003*

   * OCCURRED DURING A THUNDERSTORM
 

B. LOWEST PRESSURE (SLP)...

   JAMAICA BEACH..............1008.5 MB (29.781 IN.) AT 0730 CDT
                              AUG 31 2003
 

C. RAINFALL (INCHES)...

DAILY RAINFALL TOTALS (MDNT TO MDNT CST) 01:00 TO 01:00 CDT

   JAMAICA BEACH..............       1.55 IN    AUG 30 2003
                                     0.54 IN    AUG 31 2003
                                     2.92 IN    SEP 01 2003
                                     -----------------------------
   STORM TOTAL RAINFALL.......       5.01 IN    AUG 30-SEP 01 2003
 

   MAX RAIN TOTALS IN 1, 6, 12, AND 24 HR PERIODS

   JAMAICA BEACH..............1 HR...1.40 IN    0400-0500 CDT SEP 01 2003
                              6 HR...2.51 IN    0400-1000 CDT SEP 01 2003
                             12 HR...2.92 IN    0400-1600 CDT SEP 01 2003
                             24 HR...2.92 IN    1700-1700 CDT AUG 31-SEP 01 2003

D. STORM SURGE...

   MAXIMUM TIDE READINGS...

   JAMAICA BEACH..............3.4 FT MLLW AT 0900 CDT AUG 31 2003

   3-HOURLY AND PEAK TIDE OBSERVATIONS AT JAMAICA BEACH (WEST BAY):

   1000 CDT SAT AUG 30 2003...2.1 FT MLLW ... 1.1 FT ABOVE NORMAL
   1300 CDT SAT AUG 30 2003...2.1 FT MLLW ... 1.4 FT ABOVE NORMAL
   1600 CDT SAT AUG 30 2003...2.2 FT MLLW ... 1.7 FT ABOVE NORMAL
   1900 CDT SAT AUG 30 2003...2.5 FT MLLW ... 1.8 FT ABOVE NORMAL
   2200 CDT SAT AUG 30 2003...2.7 FT MLLW ... 1.7 FT ABOVE NORMAL
   0100 CDT SUN AUG 31 2003...2.9 FT MLLW ... 2.1 FT ABOVE NORMAL
   0400 CDT SUN AUG 31 2003...3.0 FT MLLW ... 2.5 FT ABOVE NORMAL
   0700 CDT SUN AUG 31 2003...3.3 FT MLLW ... 2.6 FT ABOVE NORMAL
   0900 CDT SUN AUG 31 2003...3.4 FT MLLW ... 2.4 FT ABOVE NORMAL*
   1000 CDT SUN AUG 31 2003...3.2 FT MLLW ... 2.2 FT ABOVE NORMAL

   * PEAK TIDE READING OBSERVED
 

E. BEACH EROSION...

SOME ADDITIONAL BEACH EROSION OCCURRED DURING TROPICAL STORM GRACE
AGGRAVATING AN ALREADY SERIOUS SITUATION ON THE WESTERN PART OF
GALVESTON ISLAND RESULTING FROM NUMEROUS TROPICAL CYCLONES OVER
THE PAST FIVE YEARS. BEACHES PROTECTED BY "GEO-TUBES" HAD THE
LEAST LOSS OF SAND WHILE THOSE WITHOUT THESE PROTECTIVE FABRIC
SOCKS FILLED WITH SAND SUFFERED ADDITIONAL EROSION.

F. FLOODING........

TIDAL FLOODING WAS LIMITED TO OVERTOPPING OF PIERS...BULKHEADS
...LOW-LYING YARDS ADJACENT TO THE BAY/CANALS...AS WELL AS BEACHES
ALONG THE GULF OF MEXICO BUT NO KNOWN STREET FLOODING OCCURRED.
SOME PONDING OF WATER DUE TO HEAVY RAINFALL OCCURRED MAINLY ON
MONDAY MORNING (SEP 01 2003).

G. TORNADOES.......

A WATERSPOUT OCCURRED OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO SOUTH OF PIRATES
BEACH (3 MILES NE OF JAMAICA BEACH) AT 12:24 PM CDT ON SUNDAY
AFTERNOON (AUG 31 2003) AND A TORNADO WARNING WAS ISSUED BY
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.  SEVERAL AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS
RECORDED THE WATERSPOUT ON VIDEOTAPE WHICH WAS BROADCAST BY
THE LOCAL NEWS MEDIA.

H. STORM EFFECTS...

A VOLUNTARY EVACUATION WAS REQUESTED FOR RESIDENTS OF WEST
GALVESTON ISLAND...INCLUDING JAMAICA BEACH...ON SATURDAY
MORNING (AUG 30 2003) SHORTLY AFTER TROPICAL STORM GRACE
FORMED IN THE GULF OF MEXICO.  HOWEVER, ONLY A HANDFUL OF
RESIDENTS RESPONDED TO THIS REQUEST AS GRACE NEVER REACHED
MORE THAN MINIMAL TROPICAL STORM INTENSITY AT THE TIME OF
LANDAFLL ON SUNDAY (AUG 31 2003). MOST OF THE PREDICTED
EFFECTS (I.E. 5 FOOT ABOVE NORMAL TIDES, ROAD FLOODING,
ETC.) ANTICIPATED BY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS NEVER
MATERIALIZED AND WERE PROBABLY OVERSTATED TO SOME DEGREE
WHEN YOU CONSIDER HOW POORLY ORGANIZED THIS TROPICAL STORM
WAS EVEN AT ITS PEAK INTENSITY. HOWEVER, IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE
WHY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS MADE THESE PREDICTIONS
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SEVERE TIDAL FLOODING THAT'S OCCURRED
OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS FROM RELATIVELY MINIMAL TROPICAL
CYCLONES...MOST NOTABLY TROPICAL STORM FRANCES (SEP 1998)
...TROPICAL STORM FAY (SEP 2002)...AND HURRICANE CLAUDETTE
(JUL 2003). YOU COULD SAY THE WHOLE REGION IS SUFFERING A
CASE OF "POST-TRAUMATIC STORM SYNDROME".

HOWEVER, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE JAMAICA BEACH WEATHER
OBSERVATORY CONSISTENTLY PREDICTED TIDES "2 TO 3 FT ABOVE
NORMAL" ON ITS SPECIAL WEATHER AND TIDE REPORTS PRIOR TO
LANDFALL OF THIS SYSTEM AND THE MAXIMUM DEPARTURE OBSERVED
AT JAMAICA BEACH WAS 2.6 FT ABOVE NORMAL AT 7:00 AM CDT
SUNDAY (AUG 31 2003) VALIDATING THE TIDE HEIGHT FORECAST.

NO WIND DAMAGE IS KNOWN TO HAVE OCCURRED ON GALVESTON
ISLAND AS A RESULT OF TROPICAL STORM GRACE.
 

JIM O'DONNEL
JAMAICA BEACH WEATHER OBSERVATORY

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