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Started By
Message
Hurricane Opal - landfall 30 years ago today on Pensacola Beach
Posted on 10/4/25 at 2:49 pm
Posted on 10/4/25 at 2:49 pm
Landfall: Pensacola Beach
Maximum sustained winds at landfall: 115 mph (145 mph gusts)
Minimum central pressure at landfall: 942 mb
Highest storm surge: ~15 feet
Deaths: 63 (13 in U.S., 31 Guatemala, 19 Mexico)
Big storm. I remember driving back from work in some fairly strong outer fringe squalls in SE Louisiana.
>
Maximum sustained winds at landfall: 115 mph (145 mph gusts)
Minimum central pressure at landfall: 942 mb
Highest storm surge: ~15 feet
Deaths: 63 (13 in U.S., 31 Guatemala, 19 Mexico)
Big storm. I remember driving back from work in some fairly strong outer fringe squalls in SE Louisiana.
> 
10
Posted on 10/4/25 at 2:52 pm to NorthEndZone
I think we went surfing before this one. I tend to get this one confused with Erin.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 2:55 pm to NorthEndZone
I got stationed at Hurlburt field in July 96. Navarre beach was virtually empty, almost like my own private beach. 98 to Destin and Panama had only recently reopened. Strange times.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 2:56 pm to DonJuanDaMiles
Yeah it kind of sat around the Bay of Campeche for a couple of days building the surf all along the LA, MS, AL, FL coasts, then got pulled up rapidly to the NNE and was moving over 20 mph at landfall.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 3:00 pm to NorthEndZone
Cloud seeded by tBlue angels
Posted on 10/4/25 at 3:14 pm to NorthEndZone
Long story, but Opal completely changed my life. I met a girl in New Orleans shortly after she had fled the panhandle at the last moment due to Opal.
She eventually became my wife, but I would have never met her if not for that hurricane.
She eventually became my wife, but I would have never met her if not for that hurricane.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 3:18 pm to Ghost of Colby
Opal knocked down trees in Montgomery. Damage was heavy far inland, all the way to Montgomery, where sustained winds reached 90 mph.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 3:28 pm to NorthEndZone
It briefly jogged toward NOLA in the middle of the night. Could have been a major disaster if it didn't jog back.
All we got was clouds and wind gusts.
All we got was clouds and wind gusts.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 3:29 pm to OlGrandad
Yeah it looks like it took only ~6 hours to get from the coast to Montgomery and a pressure of 969.4 mb was measured there.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 4:29 pm to NorthEndZone
(no message)
This post was edited on 11/17/25 at 3:27 pm
Posted on 10/4/25 at 4:35 pm to NorthEndZone
Yeah those October storms always worry me. Fast and surprising. Look what Zeta did in just 4 hours.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 4:37 pm to OlGrandad
quote:
Opal knocked down trees in Montgomery. Damage was heavy far inland, all the way to Montgomery, where sustained winds reached 90 mph.
It was the only hurricane I’ve ever experienced. I was sixteen, near Montgomery for a wedding. The house had a porch recessed into the front, offering a little protection from the wind, so I stepped out there to watch the storm and smoke the last joint I’d brought from California since I didn’t know anyone in Alabama who sold weed. I was digging for my lighter when a sudden gust snatched the joint straight out of my mouth. I watched it spiral upward until it disappeared into the clouds.
Right then, I knew I’d never forget where I was that day.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 5:23 pm to NorthEndZone
Pre opal spinnakers in PCB had a pool and less packed than club LaVila. After opal they filled it in.
That’s all I got
That’s all I got
Posted on 10/4/25 at 6:20 pm to NorthEndZone
Been here for Opal, Erin, Ivan, Sally and others....
Evacuating is a PITA... and so is putting up storm shutters....
Was weird after Opal then IVan being able to see the GOM while driving between FWB and Destin and between Navarre and Pensacola Beach. Dunes were pretty massive pre-Opal
Evacuating is a PITA... and so is putting up storm shutters....
Was weird after Opal then IVan being able to see the GOM while driving between FWB and Destin and between Navarre and Pensacola Beach. Dunes were pretty massive pre-Opal
Posted on 10/4/25 at 7:15 pm to TigersnJeeps
Opal did some damage in Auburn. There were four 30-40 foot tall pine trees pushed over in my yard, and one that size picked up from a neighbor’s yard and deposited in my backyard.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 7:21 pm to NorthEndZone
I remember pools in Destin filled completely with sand.
Posted on 10/4/25 at 7:26 pm to NorthEndZone
My mom and step-dad were still living there, they lived directly across from Pensacola Bay in Gulf Breeze
They had a fun ride.
They had a fun ride.
This post was edited on 10/4/25 at 7:27 pm
Posted on 10/4/25 at 9:58 pm to OlGrandad
Yep didn't have power for 5 days. Thank God for a gas stove and water heater. Was the only thing that kept me sain.
Posted on 10/5/25 at 8:29 am to McLemore
There were cars in Destin Harbor and boats on land...
Posted on 10/5/25 at 8:47 am to TigersnJeeps
Old 98 got destroyed
In Atlanta the tree damage was nuts. There were about a dozen pines down between us and our immediate neighbors (burbs).
In Atlanta the tree damage was nuts. There were about a dozen pines down between us and our immediate neighbors (burbs).
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