Wikipedia:Today's featured article/August 18, 2018
Hurricane Bret was the first of five Category 4 hurricanes in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season and the first tropical cyclone since Hurricane Jerry in 1989 to make landfall in Texas at hurricane intensity. After forming from a tropical wave on August 18, Bret began to track northward, and on August 21 it underwent rapid intensification. It attained its peak intensity with winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 944 mbar (hPa; 27.88 inHg). Bret turned northwestward on August 22 and weakened to a Category 3 hurricane, making landfall on Padre Island, Texas. It caused relatively little damage in comparison to its intensity, but seven people died from the storm, four in Texas and three in Mexico. Most of the deaths were due to car accidents caused by slippery roads. Heavy rains produced by Bret peaked at 13.18 inches (335 mm) in Texas and were estimated at over 14 inches (360 mm) in Mexico. Roughly 150 people were left homeless after their homes were damaged or destroyed. (Full article...)