Hurricane Allen

Hurricane Allen

Allen shortly before its record peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico on August 7
Meteorological history
Formed	July 31, 1980
Dissipated	August 11, 1980
Category 5 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds	190 mph (305 km/h)
Lowest pressure	899 mbar (hPa); 26.55 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities	281
Missing	26
Damage	$1.57 billion (1980 USD)
Areas affected	Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Yucatán Peninsula, Northern Mexico, Southern Texas
IBTrACS
Part of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Allen was the strongest Atlantic hurricane by wind speed on record. An extremely powerful tropical cyclone, Allen affected the Caribbean, eastern and northern Mexico, and South Texas in August 1980. The second tropical depression, first named storm, and first hurricane of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season, Allen was the sixth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of barometric pressure. It was one of the few hurricanes to reach Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson scale on three occasions, and spent more time at Category 5 status than all but two other Atlantic hurricanes. Allen is the only hurricane in the recorded history of the Atlantic basin to achieve sustained winds of 190 mph (305 km/h),^{[nb 1]} Until Hurricane Patricia in 2015, these were also the highest sustained winds in the Western Hemisphere. Hurricane Allen was also the third strongest tropical cyclone to exist in the Gulf of Mexico in terms of pressure, behind hurricanes Milton and Rita.

Throughout its life, Allen moved through the deep tropics on a westerly to northwesterly course through the tropical Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico before making its final landfall near the United States–Mexico border. At peak strength, it passed near Haiti, causing hundreds of deaths and heavy damage. After crossing the Gulf of Mexico, Allen weakened as it struck the lower Texas coast, causing high winds, a significant storm surge, and heavy rainfall, which caused damage to South Texas. Overall, Allen killed at least 281 people and left $1.57 billion in damages (1980 US dollars), mostly in Haiti and the United States. Due to the hurricane's impact, the name Allen was retired from the six-year revolving list of Atlantic tropical cyclone names in 1981 and replaced by Andrew. The remnants of the storm caused a brief lapse in the heat wave of 1980 in places like Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, which had recorded 69 days of 100 °F (38 °C) heat.
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