Hurricane Humberto

Hurricane Humberto roared ashore on the Texas Gulf this morning at 2 AM. The storm, a Category 1 hurricane, made landfall just east of High Island, Texas, at the exact location of the traditional clothing-optional site known to many as Bolivar Beach.

The beach, a portion of what is more officially called McFadden Beach, is situated on the coast along a washed-out section of Texas Highway 87, where previous tropical storms have taken their toll. Coastal erosion and unrepaired damage to the two-lane asphalt roadbed have led to a highway closure lasting more than a decade. The resulting remoteness of the beach lends itself to clothing-optional use, though Jefferson County sheriff's deputies do make occasional patrols and issue citations for public nudity.

Near its eye, Humberto packed sustained winds of up to 85 miles an hour and a storm surge of four to five feet. The hurricane quickly moved inland, passing over Beaumont and Port Arthur before moving into Louisiana, where it is still classified as a minimal hurricane this morning.

Humberto is the first hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland since 2005. There are no specific reports of damage to the nude beach, but it's a place that's accustomed to moderate erosion from tidal forces and severe erosion from storm events. Some geologists have estimated that the coastline there is receding inland by an average rate of several feet per year.