 Allen at 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) (Highest recorded in the Atlantic Ocean) |
| Lowest pressure | 899 mbar (hPa); 26.55 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 269 |
| 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 an extremely powerful tropical cyclone that affected the Caribbean, eastern and northern Mexico, and South Texas in August 1980. The first named storm and second tropical cyclone of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season, it was the sixth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of barometric pressure, behind Hurricane Milton, Hurricane Rita, the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, Hurricane Gilbert and Hurricane Wilma. It was one of the few hurricanes to reach Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale on three occasions, and spent more time as a Category 5 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] thus making it the strongest Atlantic hurricane by wind speed. 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, behind the aforementioned 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 269 people and left $1.57 billion in damages (1980 US dollars), mostly within the United States and Haiti. Because of its impact, the name Allen was retired from the six-year revolving list of Atlantic tropical cyclone names in 1981 and the name was replaced by Andrew. The name Andrew, though, was subsequently retired after the 1992 season's Hurricane 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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