 Hurricane Flossy originated from a tropical disturbance in the eastern Pacific Ocean and moved across Central America into the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical depression on September 21 , 1956 , which became a tropical storm on September 22 and a hurricane on September 23 . The hurricane peaked with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph ( 150 km / h ) before it struck the central Gulf coast of the United States as a Category 1 hurricane on September 24 , and evolved into an extratropical cyclone on September 25 . It was the first hurricane to affect oil refining in the Gulf of Mexico . The tropical cyclone led to flooding in New Orleans , and broke a drought across the eastern United States . The death toll was 15 , and total damages reached $ 24 @.@ 8 million ( 1956 USD ) . 
