Camille
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Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton and this is The Weather Notebook.

Pat O'Brien's restaurant, in New Orleans, is famous for it's drink, The Hurricane. And many folks may think that hurricane season is a great time for a party. Well, here's a story that may make them think again.

On August 17, 1969, a group of 24 people in Mississippi decided to greet Hurricane Camille. Hurricane Camille was moving north toward the towns of Gulfport and Pass Christian. Instead of evacuating, the group decided to hunker down in the Richelieu Apartments, right on the coast, and enjoy the show. But a few hours before reaching landfall, Camille strengthened dramatically, reaching Category 5--the highest rating on the hurricane scale.

Camille pounded the Mississippi coastline, packing wind gusts of 200 miles per hour and a storm surge of 24 feet. The wind and water slammed into the Richelieu Apartments and smashed them into pieces. One woman at the party was swept more than 12 miles inland. She turned out to be the lucky one. She was the sole survivor of the party that hoped to celebrate the storm of the century.

As Camille continued up the coast, she brought torrential rains and massive flooding across the Appalachians. In all, more than 250 people were killed.

Meanwhile, Camille gave a good scare to the home of the Hurricane. New Orleans, just 50 miles from Camille's path, emerged relatively unscathed. Hurricane Camille is the only category 5 Hurricane to hit the U.S. coast this past century.

Today's contributing writer is Bob Henson of Boulder, Colorado. The Weather Notebook is a production of the Mount Washington Observatory. Major support is provided by Subaru, the beauty of all wheel drive.