Hurricane Anthony (2016)

Hurricane Anthony was the first named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane that occurred in the early part of the hyperactive 2016 Atlantic hurricane season. Anthony was a short-lived but intense tropical cyclone that originated from a tropical wave over the Central Atlantic that later gained tropical characteristics on June 12 and soon underwent explosive intensification - the fastest of any hurricane ever observed in the Atlantic, reaching Category 5 status only a day later on June 13. Anthony shattered several records in the Atlantic during its short life span. Anthony was them most intense hurricane to occur in the Atlantic since Wilma of 2005 in terms of wind speed - with the storm hitting winds of 190 MPH at peak intensity. However, the storm maintained an unusually high pressure during its life- with the lowest pressure estimated to be 932 mbar, a characteristic seen in Category 4 hurricanes. This pressure level may have been a factor of the storm's early dissipation, which may have been a result of a fast-moving track, landfall, an unstable core, and massive upwelling that occurred at the end of the storm's life, thus resulting in an eyewall-replacement cycle. Anthony also had the fastest intensification of any hurricane in the world, mainly due to instability and large bursts of convection in the storm's core - Anthony hit peak intensity on June 13, a day after becoming a depression, which shattered Emily's record of 2005 for being the the most intense tropical cyclone to occur in the Atlantic before August (but not in terms of pressure), as well being the fastest intensifying storm to occur in the Atlantic. Anthony was also the third costliest hurricane to occur in the Atlantic basin, but was later knocked to fifth after two other very devastating storms occurred later in the season - Deanna and Kingston. Anthony's 190 MPH wind speed record was also shattered later in the season by Kingston, which exceeded a top speed of 205 MPH. Anthony also set records for shortest-lived major hurricane and fastest-moving storm in the Atlantic, and also the entire world. The final record Anthony broke was for being the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Felix in 2007, ending a nine-year streak when no Category 5 hurricanes appeared in the Atlantic.

Anthony also caused significant damage in parts of the Caribbean as well as the entire Gulf Coast, causing devastation similar to Katrina of 2005. The storm first hit the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico at tropical-storm force, with winds exceeding 50 MPH, causing minimal damage to buildings and other structures, while 3-5 foot waves flooded beaches and resulted in their closure for up to three days after the storm's passage. Just two hours later, Anthony picked up speed at a torrid pace as the system was estimated to have winds of 70 MPH just as it made landfall in the Dominican Republic even before a warning could be issued, as many NHC scientists expected Anthony to turn NE and hit the Bahamas and then continue to weaken over the Northern Atlantic. However, on June 12 at 10 P.M. EST, Anthony made landfall in Santo Domingo as a 73 MPH Tropical Storm, just shy of minimal hurricane status, which it achieved over Haiti later the next day. The storm then struck Haiti at C1 intensity, in which the storm had undergone a rare phenomenon in which Anthony actually strengthened over land. Serious damage occurred in the $78 million dollar range, with widespread power outages and a four-foot storm surge being blamed on high winds exceeding 75 MPH, with gusts reaching 90 MPH in Belladere, Haiti, shortly before electricity was knocked out.

Leber Family Survival Story
The Leber Family of Mobile, Alabama were one of thousands of families trapped in their home during Hurricane Anthony of 2016. What makes their story significant, however, is that their endurance survived the test of nature, and how daring acts of courage were able to allow for their survival after the brutal storm's passage. "It was unlike anything we had ever experienced," stated Carolyn Leber, mother of 4, one of the seven family members to experience the storm. "We've seen devastation before, but from what this storm brought us was anything beyond what I expected in my wildest dreams."

At 6 P.M. EST on June 13, 2016, all seven members of the Leber families sat together in the living room of their ranch home on Creekway Drive to watch the weather report of oncoming storm, Major Hurricane Anthony. "We had heard reports that Anthony was a Category 5, with the fastest wind speeds ever recorded of any storm in the Atlantic," stated Robert Leber, Father. "But we had brushed it off. Mobile has had hurricanes before.  We've had Ivan, which brought the highest storm surge ever recorded in Alabama.  There was also Dennis, in 2005, which was an intense storm at landfall.  Since we had experienced these storms, amongst many others, we figured Anthony wouldn't be that much worse."

"Throughout the day, thunderstorms from the outer edges of the storm had pushed through our area, but they lasted barely ten minutes and we could never find any damage," explained Keranique Leber, 23, daughter of Robert and Carolyn. "So, based on that, we thought, 'Hey, this storm won't be bad at all!' We were wrong."

Unlike many in Mobile, the Lebers neglected to stock up on supplies to prepare for the catastrophic impacts of the Category 5 storm, and ignored the Federally mandated evacuations north into McIntosh or Mt. Vernon, and chose to wait out the storm in their brick home on Creekway Drive, less than half a mile west of Mobile Bay.