Hurricane Claudette was a moderately strong tropical cyclone that struck South Texas in July 2003.

The hurricane caused two deaths and moderate damage in Texas, mostly from strong winds, as well as extensive beach erosion.

Because of the damage, President George W. Bush declared portions of South Texas a Federal Disaster Area, allowing the affected citizens to apply for aid.

[1][3][4] Despite a well-organized appearance on satellite imagery, the system did not a have a surface circulation as the wave moved across the Lesser Antilles, as confirmed by the Hurricane Hunters.

[1] Late on July 8, the Hurricane Hunters again entered the system, observing a surface circulation along with flight-level winds of 66 mph (105 km/h).

[10] However, the eyewall fell apart due to the continued wind shear, and the center became poorly-defined, occasionally reforming within the thunderstorm bursts.

Around 10:00 UTC on July 11, Claudette made landfall with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) in eastern Mexico at Puerto Morelos, or 15 mi (25 km) southwest of Cancún.

This imparted a more northerly component to Claudette's track, to the northwest at first, bringing the storm into the southern Gulf of Mexico late on July 11.

[14] The continued wind shear and moderately warm waters prevented restrengthening, and at times the circulation became exposed from the convection.

[1][15] Describing Claudette's lack of development over a 24 hour period, NHC forecaster Brian Jarvinen noted, "...as Yogi Berra said... it's deja vu all over again.

[18] At 06:00 UTC that day, Claudette re-intensified into a hurricane a short distance southeast of the Texas coastline.

[19] At 15:30 UTC on July 15, Claudette made its final landfall at Matagorda Island, just east of Port O'Connor, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 km/h), or a Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Claudette fell to tropical depression status by early on July 17, after the circulation reached the mountains of West Texas.

[26] As a tropical wave, Claudette dropped torrential rainfall and brought strong winds to the island of Saint Lucia.

On the northern and eastern portions of the island, the strong winds ripped off roofs and downed trees across roadways.

[28] In the Dominican Republic, the outer bands of the storm caused moderate rainfall of up to 3 inches (76 mm) in Santo Domingo.

[1] Forecasters predicted high tides, strong waves, and up to 6 inches (150 mm) of rain on the island, although exact post-storm totals are not known.

[30] Many fishermen moved their boats from the water to safety, while a cruise line diverted three ships away from Claudette's path.

[31] In the Cayman Islands, where the storm remained 165 miles (266 km) away at its closest point, rainfall totals ranged from 1 to 3 inches (25 to 76 mm).

[32] While crossing Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, Claudette produced light rainfall, reaching 3.22 inches (82 mm) in Cancún.

Overall, Claudette sank a few small boats and flooded a few streets in Cancún, though damage was minor in the Yucatán Peninsula.

[34] While Claudette was over the Gulf of Mexico, it produced rip currents that killed a 70 year-old man in Navarre Beach, Florida.

[1][35][36] Upon making landfall on the central Texas coast, Claudette produced a variety of damaging effects.

[35] Claudette maintained its intensity as it entered west Texas, and was the first tropical storm to affect the region since Celia in 1970.

[44] In Crystal City in Zavala County, strong winds knocked down trees and damaged roofs.

[45] A weather station at the Terrell County Airport recorded sustained winds of 44 mph (70 km/h), despite being 350 mi (570 km) inland.

[44] On July 17, President George W. Bush declared 18 south Texas counties as a federal disaster area.