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Event
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Opal (by HanKFranK)
Hurricane Opal gave the Florida Panhandle its biggest scare in decades. After meandering in the Bay of Campeche at the start of the month, Opal began moving northeast and strengthening on October 3, 1995. Overnight and into the morning of October 4 the storm deepened explosively, becoming a high-end category 4 with winds at 150 MPH and a lowest measured pressure at 916 mb. Fortunately the storm peaked a few hours before landfall, and was spinning down rapidly under increasing shear when it came ashore during the early evening near Navarre Beach, FL. Winds are estimated to have been at 115 MPH near the Destin area... the central pressure had risen to 942 mb at landfall. Opal nevertheless caused significant surge damage near the coast and widespread moderate wind damage in the Florida Panhandle and south Alabama. The death toll was 59--mostly in the Yucatan region from flooding, as only 20 died in the U.S. Damage totalled around 3 billion.
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