<Tr> <Th> Areas affected </Th> <Td> Windward Islands, Suriname, Guyana, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Cayman Islands, Yucatán Peninsula, Southern and Eastern United States (especially Texas, Louisiana) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Part of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season </Td> </Tr> <P> Hurricane Harvey was an extremely destructive Atlantic hurricane which became the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005, ending a record 12 - year span in which no hurricanes made landfall at such an intensity in the country . In a four - day period, many areas received more than 40 inches (100 cm) of rain as the system slowly meandered over eastern Texas and adjacent waters, causing catastrophic flooding . With peak accumulations of 64.58 in (164.0 cm), Harvey is the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United States . The resulting floods inundated hundreds of thousands of homes, displaced more than 30,000 people, and prompted more than 17,000 rescues . </P> <P> The eighth named storm, third hurricane, and the first major hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Harvey developed from a tropical wave to the east of the Lesser Antilles, reaching tropical storm status on August 17 . The storm crossed through the Windward Islands on the following day, passing just south of Barbados and later near Saint Vincent . Upon entering the Caribbean Sea, Harvey began to weaken due to moderate wind shear and degenerated into a tropical wave north of Colombia early on August 19 . The remnants were monitored for regeneration as it continued west - northwestward across the Caribbean and the Yucatán Peninsula, before redeveloping over the Bay of Campeche on August 23 . Harvey then began to rapidly intensify on August 24, regaining tropical storm status and becoming a hurricane later that day . While the storm moved generally northwest, Harvey's intensification phase stalled slightly overnight from August 24--25; however, Harvey soon resumed strengthening and quickly became a major hurricane and attained Category 4 intensity later that day . Hours later, Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas, at peak intensity . Afterwards, rapid weakening ensued, and Harvey had downgraded to a tropical storm as it stalled near the coastline of the state, dropping torrential and unprecedented amounts of rainfall over the Lone Star state . On August 28, it emerged back over the Gulf of Mexico, strengthening slightly before making a third and final landfall in Louisiana on August 29 . As Harvey drifted inland, it quickly weakened again as it became extratropical on September 1, before dissipating two days later . </P>

Was harvey a hurricane or a tropical storm