Texas alone. Several tornadoes also touched down in Louisiana, causing the destruction of 140 homes and 11 farms and other buildings, and major damage to 231 additional homes and 11 farm and other buildings. Minor to moderate damage was also reported to 748 homes and 75 farms and other buildings. Six deaths and $25 million in losses in Louisiana were attributed to Carla. Heavy rainfall occurred in several other states, especially in Kansas, where flash flooding severely damaged crops and drowned 5 people. Overall, Carla resulted in $325.74 million in losses and 43 fatalities. Meteorological history As early as September 1, a tropical disturbance – an area of convective activity – was observed tracking westward across the Caribbean Sea within the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Around that time, an anticyclone was situated over the western Caribbean Sea at the upper-tropospheric levels. Surface charts indicate that a low-level circulation was developing early on September 3. Thus, it is estimated that a tropical depression – a tropical cyclone with sustained winds with winds of less than – developed about northwest of Barranquilla, Colombia at 1200 UTC. Initially, the center of circulation remained difficult to locate on surface charts due to lack of data. At San Andrés, winds shifted west at about , while barometric pressures dropped to . The Weather Bureau Office in Miami, Florida issued its first bulletin at 1600 UTC on September 4, while the depression was centered about east-southeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios, Nicaragua. It is estimated that sustained winds reached 45 mph (75 km/h) at 1200 UTC on September 5, thus the depression strengthened into a tropical storm and was named Carla, while located just northeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios. A reconnaissance aircraft flight reported that Carla was continuing to intensify, with surface winds of 50 mph (85 km/h). Radars reported an unusually large tropical cyclone, with convective bands extending about outward from the center. Around 0000 UTC on September 6, Carla passed near Swan Island, which reported a barometric pressure of about and wind gusts of 60 mph (95 km/h) from the southwest. Based on observations obtained by a reconnaissance aircraft at 1100 UTC on September 6 – namely a barometric pressure of – a bulletin issued by the Weather Bureau an hour later indicated that the storm had "probably reached hurricane intensity". According to post-season analysis, Carla reached hurricane status at that time. Shortly