Hurricane Audrey 1957

Residents of Cameron LA went to bed believing that they had plenty of time to evacuate the following morning in advance of what was then a Category Two Hurricane Audrey. Official bulletins from the U.S. Weather Bureau stated that the storm would not come ashore until late the next day. They would be very surprised the next morning to find water covering much of their parish as a twelve foot storm surge was already impacting the area and the center waas just offshore. Also, Audrey had intensified rapidly during the night, with the central pressure dropping 35 mb from the last reconnaissance fix during the day. Winds correspondingly increased to 145 mph and the storm surge rose from an expected 5-8 feet to a devastating 12 feet or higher. Additionally, the forward movement of the hurricane increased from 6 mph to 15 mph, and residents were told that the hurricane would not strike until the following afternoon. 390 people would die and another 192 would never be found.Hurricane Audrey is also noted as being the strongest June hurricane to make landfall within the United States, and one of only two major hurricanes to make landfall in the month of June. The other major hurricane affected Louisiana across St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes on June 16, 1934.