Hurricane Alicia slammed into Texas 32 years ago today

HOUSTON -- Hurricane Alicia tore through Galveston and Houston 32 years ago today.

Packing 115 mph winds, the category 3 hurricane made landfall on the west end of Galveston Island near San Luis Pass, killing 21 people and causing over 2 billion dollars in damage.

PHOTOS: Hurricane Alicia in 1983

What began as a disturbance along a front in the central Gulf of Mexico on August 15th, Alicia quickly and steadily strengthened right up until its landfall just three days later. The small, compact storm only produced 5-10" of rain, but it also produced 23 tornadoes as it quickly moved through east Texas.

Only four named storms formed in the 1983 hurricane season, proving that what matters most is where the storms go, not how many form. It only takes one storm to make it a bad hurricane season for us, so we must always be prepared.