Remembering Hurricane Audrey's Destruction

In 1957, the strongest-known June hurricane rammed the western Gulf Coast.Landfall of the extremely powerful late-June storm happened early on the 27thnear the Texas-Louisiana border following peak intensity that rated Category 4on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. This is the earliest known date for any Category 4Atlantic hurricane.

Destruction from Audrey was, at the time, the worst since the great 1938 NewEngland hurricane. In terms of 2008 dollars, damage measured $1.1 billion. Thetoll in lives was especially heavy--419.