Fire Weather Concerns; Record Warmth Spreads

The Plains to the mid-Mississippi Valley continue with warm and dry conditions. Any fires that initiate could spread quickly. The warm temperatures will expand across the Southern Plains into the Southwest where numerous records are expected through the weekend. Meanwhile, a cold front will move southward across the northern Plains and Great Lakes region where some snow will develop this weekend. Read More >

Tropical Storm Esther

September 15-19, 1957

An area of disturbed weather in the Bay of Campeche on September 15^th organized into a tropical depression later that evening, and was named Tropical Storm Esther early on September 16^th. A broad mid to upper level trough of low pressure over the Central U.S. to the northern Gulf only allowed Esther to move slowly northward across the Western Gulf through September 17th while remaining a weak tropical storm. Building high pressure aloft off the Southeast U.S. allowed Esther to move quicker to the north-northeast late on the 17^th into early on September 18^th, steadily intensifying as it headed to the Louisiana coast.

Tropical Storm Esther reached its peak intensity while making landfall south of Houma, Louisiana around 7 AM CST September 18th with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (55 knots). Esther slowly weakened across Southeast Louisiana and Southern Mississippi, downgraded to a tropical depression by Midnight. Click here for an interactive map of Tropical Storm Esther.

WIND & PRESSURE:
No reports of tropical storm force winds were recorded west of the Atchafalaya River. The highest sustained wind of 20 mph was recorded at Lafayette, Louisiana early on September 18^th before landfall. Across Southeast Louisiana, sustained winds of 46 mph (40 knots) was measured at Burrwood. Further east, the highest sustained winds of 52 mph (45 knots) with a peak wind gust of 75 mph (65 knots) was recorded at 12:37 PM CST September 18^th in Pensacola, Florida, well east of the center. Observations obtained from the Hurricane Re-analysis Project (1957) ^{and hourly surface observations from the}National Centers for Environmental Information (NECI).

STORM SURGE:
No significant coastal flooding was reported west of the Atchafalaya River.

RAINFALL:
Rainfall of 1 to 2 inches occurred across the Atchafalaya Basin and South-Central Louisiana. The highest rainfall west of the Atchafalaya River was 2.69 inches at Point Au Fer Reef Lighthouse. Much higher rainfall totals of 5 to over 15 inches occurred across extreme Southeast Louisiana and Southern Mississippi, with 18.39 inches being recorded in Quarantine, Louisiana. For complete rainfall totals reported across our region, see the Rainfall section.

TORNADOES:
No tornadoes were reported.

Additional Data, Maps, Tables
Wind and Pressure		Rainfall

Other Post Tropical Cyclone Reports
Monthly Weather Review - 1957 Atlantic Hurricane Season Summary

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Fire Weather Concerns; Record Warmth Spreads

Tropical Storm Esther 1957