Hurricane Beulah

About Hurricane Beulah

Hurricane Beulah tracked through the Caribbean, struck the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico as a major hurricane, and moved west-northwest into the Gulf of Mexico, briefly gaining Category 5 intensity. It was the strongest hurricane during the 1967 Atlantic hurricane season. The cyclone then weakened before moving into Texas as a major hurricane. It spawned 115 twisters across Texas, which established a new record for the highest amount of tornadoes produced by a tropical cyclone. Due to its slow movement over Texas, Beulah led to significant flooding, and caused over $1 billion (2005 USD) in damages. There were 58 fatalities.

A convective area in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) developed into a tropical depression on September 5 east of the Lesser Antilles. It moved slowly through the islands, and on September 7 it became Tropical Storm Beulah. The next day Beulah reached hurricane strength while continuing slowly west-northwestward. It began to rapidly intensify, reaching an initial peak of 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) winds while south of the Mona Passage. It passed south of Hispaniola. Land interaction and upper level shear greatly weakened the hurricane to a 60 mph (97 km/h) tropical storm.

Once over the western Caribbean, favorable conditions again returned, letting Beulah strengthen to a 115 miles per hour (185 km/h) major hurricane. On September 16, Beulah weakened and made landfall near Cozumel, Mexico, as a 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) hurricane. It weakened slightly over land, but once over the Gulf of Mexico, conditions were very favorable. It rapidly intensified, reaching its peak as a Category 5 storm with 160 miles per hour (260 km/h) winds. In terms of size, Beulah became the third largest hurricane on record, at the time.