The storm's winds further weakened the damaged levees in New Orleans and caused renewed flooding in parts of the city.

Evidence of a supercell comes from the storm's shape and structure, and cloud tower features such as a hard and vigorous updraft tower, a persistent, large overshooting top, a hard anvil ( especially when backsheared against strong upper level winds ), and a corkscrew look or striations.

This was immediately followed by an abrupt weakening, and the storm's maximum sustained winds dropped to later that day.

Most of the houses, businesses, and other buildings suffered roof damage from the storm's ferocious winds.

Throughout its duration, it was a small tropical cyclone, although with a radius of gale force winds spreading 100 miles ( 160 km ) to the north, the storm's thunderstorm area quickly spread over Cuba.

Although Noreasters can produce winds that are similar to those in hurricanes, they do not produce the storm surge that proved to be the 1938 storm's greatest killer.

The storm's power was made apparent by its sustained hurricane-force winds of approximately with gusts to and the formation of an eye-like structure in the middle of the storm.

The fierce northeast winds from the storm — with the low pressure area stalled off of Martha's Vineyard — combined with astronomically high tides and storm surge resulting from the storm's low pressure to send water over low-lying land along the shores of Long Island Sound, Cape Cod Bay, and other bodies of water, resulting in some of the worst coastal flooding ever recorded.

It brought 70 mph ( 110 km / h ) winds to Turks and Caicos Islands and South Andros, as well as precipitation in the storm's outer bands.

During thunderstorm formation, winds move in a direction opposite to the storm's travel, and they move from all directions into the thunderstorm.

At time of Irene's arrival, red tides were ongoing in western Florida ; winds from the storm's precursor blew thousands of dead fish ashore.

The storm's persistent strong currents and easterly winds caused moderate beach erosion on the East Coast of the United States, mostly along the Florida coast.

Diamond Shoal Light reported sustained winds of 100 mph ( 160 km / h ), and Cape Hatteras, where the storm's eye came ashore, experienced 75 mph ( 120 km / h ) winds.

The storm's severe winds, waves, and storm surge left numerous beaches, piers, and other coastal structures heavily impaired.

Usually, such low readings near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico are observed only in hurricanes of Category 2 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, Overall, the storm's surge, winds, and tornadoes damaged or destroyed 18, 000 homes.

Further inland, the combination of strong winds and rains left heavy crop damage, destroying 3 million bushels of corn and another million bushels of soybeans ; losses to the corn crop were mitigated due to about half of the crop having been harvested before the storm's arrival.

Upon coming ashore, the storm's eye was about 20 km ( 12 mi ) wide, with gale-force winds within 95 km ( 60 mi ) of the center.

In Halifax, Nova Scotia, the storm's moderately powerful winds downed telephone and telegraph wires and uproofed several buildings.

Along the Florida Panhandle, the storm's winds impacted power, telephone, and telegraph lines, and inflicted $ 2, 000 worth of damage to a dock warehouse.

The 160 mph ( 260 km / h ) wind measurement from Puerto Rico was taken by a cup anemometer in San Juan, 30 miles ( 50 km ) north of the storm's center, which measured 160 mph ( 260 km / h ) sustained winds three hours before the peak wind speed was reached ; however, the instrument was destroyed soon after and could not be calibrated.

Hurricane-force winds were measured in Guayama for 18 hours ; since the storm is estimated to have been moving at 13 mph ( 21 km / h ), the diameter of the storm's hurricane winds was estimated very roughly to be 234 miles ( 376 km ).< ref name =" mwr-pr "> After leaving the Caribbean, the hurricane moved across the Bahamas as a strong Category 4 hurricane.

Tides at Norfolk, Virginia were only slightly above normal during the storm's passage to the east, and winds were moderate in strength.

The storm's maximum sustained wind speeds peaked at, achieving Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.

The storm's most powerful, unofficially recorded gust of wind was reported at Pearl River Community College, at.

An observer from the United States Geological Survey estimated that about of rain had fallen in about 50 minutes at the storm's center.

Three main classes of tropical cyclone guidance models exist: Statistical models are based on an analysis of storm behavior using climatology, and correlate a storm's position and date to produce a forecast that is not based on the physics of the atmosphere at the time.

However, reconnaissance data was at times inconsistent and inaccurate, leading to suspicious and unlikely jogs in the storm's track.

Due to the close proximity of Belle and the east coast of the United States, Hurricane Watches were issued for areas between Georgia and Maine at some point during the storm's existence.

An unspecified number of deaths were caused by the hurricane, and despite the damage, an August 1911 issue of the Monthly Weather Review described the storm's effects as lighter than expected, estimating total damage in Pensacola at $ 12, 000 ( 1911 USD, $ 280, 000 2011 USD ).

They observe the storm's coming at an unusual time of year, insinuating ominousness.

The storm's heavy rain and constant thunder may have overpowered the noise of the volcano, and with no systematic warning efforts, the residents of Armero were completely unaware of the continuing activity at Ruiz.

Despite the system's disorganized cloud appearance, combined observations from nearby ships, as well as a report from Manzanillo, Mexico, reveals Irwin's maximum sustained winds may have been as high as with a minimum barometric pressure of, which was set as the storm's peak intensity at 00 UTC on August 22.

The storm's intensity held steady at 35 kts / 40 mph ( its peak strength ) as it ambled its way across the mountains of Luzon, finally emerging off the northwest coast late on the 23rd.

Rita was slow to become a hurricane ; National Hurricane Center ( NHC ) reports early on September 20 estimated the storm's sustained surface winds at hurricane force ( 75 mph or 120 km / h ).

The storm surge feared in Galveston and Houston struck farther east as the storm's center came ashore at the Louisiana border ; winds blowing offshore in Texas actually flattened the surge, which was only seven feet ( 2 m ), well below the height of the Galveston seawall.

The storm's path curved back to a northwesterly heading by the October 15.

The storm's track curved to the west-northwest.

The storm's remnants continued to the northeast, dissipating on August 31 about 320 mi ( 520 km ) west of Spain.

Contrary to predictions, by late on September 22, the storm had turned northeast, and some residents of Florida were still unaware of the storm's threat despite the issuance of hurricane warnings 24 hours in advance.

The computer models initially predicted two distinct possibilities for the storm's future with some models indicating the storm would cross over Florida and enter the Gulf of Mexico while others indicated that it would stay offshore and move to the northeast.

If the storm's track is affected significantly, it will often pass near the Eastern U. S., Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland Island and curve back out to sea, where it becomes extratropical over cooler water.

After this the storm's history is unknown, but it likely became extratropical over the northwestern Atlantic Ocean as it went out to sea.