1995 was a historic and destructive year for the Atlantic Basin. Hurricane Opal was the 4th out of 5 destructive hurricanes that impacted the Atlantic Basin. Hurricane Opal was the 3rd destructive hurricane to impact the United States (including the US territories) in 1995. 1995 was historic because it started the second active phase in the Atlantic Basin which 30 years later continues to this day.

On September 23rd a tropical disturbance developed off the Nicaragua coastline the tropical disturbance caused heavy rain in Nicaragua and later Honduras. For the next few days the tropical disturbance moved northward. Models started to show the disturbance becoming something in the Gulf. On September 27th the disturbance emerged in the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf and started to quickly organize. Later in the day the National Hurricane Center declared it a tropical depression and the models started to show it becoming a very strong major hurricane.

However, due to being close to land and still dealing with land interaction the depression did not develop for a few days. Late on September 29th the depression was named Tropical Storm Opal. On September the 30th Opal started to become better organized and the winds increased to 65 mph with the Hurricane Center noting an eye wall was developing.

Late on October 1st Opal winds increased to 75 mph making Opal a category 1 hurricane. Due to a trough in the Eastern US Opal started to be pulled northeastward. It was clear that Opal would impact Alabama and Florida. On October 2nd OPal started to strengthen more as the winds increased to 100 mph making Opal a category 2 hurricane.

October 3rd Opal started to under go rapid intensification. Becoming a major hurricane later in the day with winds up to 120 mph making OPal a category 3 hurricane. The Next day Opal winds increased to 150 mph and a low pressure of 916 millibars. This made Opal a high end category 4 hurricane. After reaching peak Opal started to do an eyewall replacement cycle which is common for major hurricanes. Opal's winds decreased to 130 mph.

The next day on October 5th dry air from a cold front entered Opal causing it to weaken to 120 mph category 3 hurricane. Later in the day Opal made landfall near Pensacola as a 120 mph category 3 hurricane. Opal caused a very high storm surge, wind damage, and tornadoes.

As Opal moved inland it continued to produce dangerous winds and flooding as well as tornadoes. The storm was still a tropical storm when it made it to Chattanooga TN with 50 mph winds. Later in the evening on October 6th Opal was a tropical depression in Eastern Kentucky still dumping heavy rain. On October the 7th Opal became non tropical.

In my area Opal produced winds up to 50 mph, and 3-6 inches of rain resulting in flooding. We also had severe storms with straight line winds as we were close to the storms center.

However, Opal was a very destructive hurricane especially in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. Opal caused 63 deaths and $4.75 Billion in damages to the United States. This made Opal the most destructive hurricane from the 1995 season. Moreover, Opal was the most destructive hurricane in the 1995 season to impact the United States. In addition, Opal with a pressure of 916 millibars and max winds of 150 mph was the strongest hurricane of the 1995 season.

Opal was considered one of the worst hurricanes to strike Gulf Shores Alabama and Pensacola Florida in 15 years. 9 years later Hurricane Ivan would be more damaging. Still, Opal is talked about to this day 30 years later.

As a meteorologists I have even referenced Opal impact in my area when we could get remnants from Tropical Storms/Hurricanes. Due to the severe damage the name Opal was retired from the naming list the following year.

Hurricane Opal was the 3rd out of 4 names retired from the 1995 season the others being Luis, Marilyn, and Roxanne. It was also the 4th out of 5 destructive hurricanes from 1995 in the Atlantic Basin and the 3rd US destructive hurricane from that year. The other destructive US hurricanes were Erin, and Marilyn, which impacted the US Virgin Isles. It is hard to believe that Opal was 30 years ago, but it was a historic hurricane. Opal also seemed to set a dangerous trend since 1995 of destructive hurricanes impacting the US especially the state of Florida.