Hurricane Larry
Hurricane Larry was a strong and long-lived tropical cyclone that became the first hurricane to make landfall in Newfoundland since Igor in 2010. The twelfth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Larry originated from a tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa and organized into a tropical depression on August 31. The next day, the depression developed into a tropical storm, receiving the name Larry. The storm moved quickly across the far eastern tropical Atlantic, where it strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane the morning of September 2. Then, after undergoing a period of rapid intensification, Larry became a major Category 3 hurricane early on September 4. After churning for several days as a strong hurricane in the open ocean, and passing near Bermuda, Larry made landfall in Newfoundland on September 11, as a Category 1 hurricane, becoming an extratropical cyclone later that same day. On September 13, the storm was absorbed by a larger extratropical cyclone near Greenland.
Larry passed to the east of Bermuda as a Category 1 hurricane, causing minimal damage. Swells generated by Larry's powerful and expansive wind field killed three people offshore the East Coast of the United States, one off the coast of Puerto Rico, and another in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Another person went missing at sea south of Newfoundland when their stolen boat sailed directly into the storm. In Newfoundland, Larry caused over 60,000 power outages and damaged buildings. Its powerful extratropical remnants paralleled the eastern coast of Greenland on September 12, resulting in over of snow and hurricane-force wind gusts across much of the interior of eastern Greenland. A report by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. stated that Larry killed five people and caused an estimated CA$25 million in insurance loss from damage. According to Aon Benfield, total damage in Canada reached US$61 million.
Meteorological history
On August 27, the National Hurricane Center was monitoring a tropical wave that was going to emerge off the coast of West Africa, giving it a 20% chance of formation for the next five days. The tropical wave exited Africa on August 30, associated with an area of low pressure moving generally westward. In the following 24 hours, deep convection began to quickly develop around the eastern portion of the low-pressure area. Due to this, the NHC designated the system as a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC on August 31, numbering it Twelve, while it was situated south-southeast of the Cape Verde Islands. Six hours later, the depression became a tropical storm, receiving the name Larry. The storm moved generally westward over the next few days, directly to the south of the edge of the subtropical ridge, steadily strengthening due to favorable conditions such as low wind shear, high moisture levels, and high sea surface temperatures. The storm underwent some strengthening on September 1, with a small inner-core forming that afternoon.At 06:00 UTC on September 2, Larry developed a well-defined mid-level eye, and strengthened to winds of with a pressure of 991 hPa, sufficient for the NHC to classify Larry as a hurricane. Later on September 2, Larry, in the process of an eyewall replacement cycle, encountered wind shear and dry mid-level air, and its intensification paused briefly, disturbing the process. Larry quickly recovered from this, and early the next day it underwent a period of rapid intensification, the fourth hurricane of the season to do so, intensifying by in a period. At 12:00 UTC, Larry developed a well-defined eye that was visible on satellite imagery, and at 00:00 UTC the next day, Larry became a Category 3 major hurricane. Six hours later, Larry reached its peak intensity of, while located east of the Leeward Islands, then began to turn west-northwestward, slowing down under the influence of the subtropical ridge.
On the afternoon of September 4, Larry underwent another eyewall replacement cycle and decreased slightly in intensity, although remaining at Category 3 strength. By the morning of September 5, the storm had gained annular characteristics, specifically an eye that had doubled in size, from in diameter to. Overnight, Larry had also strengthened back to, its second peak intensity, located east of the Leeward Islands. Early on September 6, Larry weakened again, while maintaining annular features. At 12:00 UTC on September 7, Larry weakened to, becoming a Category 2 hurricane. It had also reached the western edge of the subtropical ridge by then, and started moving more sharply to the north, over the central Atlantic. By September 8, Larry had grown to a large size; with a tropical-storm-force wind radius of. Larry would maintain Category 2 status until it got downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane on September 9, with winds of, due to slowly decreasing sea surface temperatures. Turning north-northwestward, late on 9 September, Larry reached its westernmost point east-northeast of Bermuda.
Early on September 10, Larry started moving north, and began to accelerate due to the presence of a mid-latitude trough. Increasing wind shear and decreasing sea surface temperatures caused Larry to weaken further, and at 12:00 UTC on September 10, it reached. Then Larry turned to the north-northeast and its forward speed increased to as it passed within of Nova Scotia. By 00:00 UTC on September 11, Larry's speed had increased to as it approached the southeastern coast of Newfoundland. At 03:30 UTC on September 11, the storm made landfall in Great Bona Cove, east of the Burin Peninsula on Newfoundland's south coast as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of and a minimum central pressure of. Once Larry made landfall, it further weakened to at 06:00 UTC on September 11, while over Newfoundland. By 12:00 UTC, Larry had passed Newfoundland and transitioned into a large extratropical cyclone north-northeast of St. John's, Newfoundland. Extratropical Cyclone Larry weakened slightly before, at 00:00 UTC on September 12, it was absorbed by another extratropical cyclone moving east in the Labrador Sea, causing hurricane-force winds in Greenland.
Preparations and impact
Bermuda
At 15:00 UTC on September 7, the Bermuda Weather Service issued a tropical storm watch as tropical storm conditions were possible. The following day at 12:00 UTC, the watch was upgraded to a warning. At 00:00 UTC, September 9, the Bermuda Weather Service discontinued the warning. That same day, Larry brought tropical storm-force winds to the island, with sustained winds of and gusts up to, a minimum overland pressure of and a storm surge of being recorded at Ferry Reach. No deaths were recorded, and overall damage was minimal, consisting only of storm surge to beaches and one minor power outage due to fallen trees.United States
Although Larry remained far away from the United States and its territories, large swells from the hurricane reached the East Coast, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Rip currents killed a woman in Saint Croix on September 8 and a man in Puerto Rico on September 11. In Florida, the National Weather Service issued a rip current warning for beach areas. In Cape Canaveral, a 69-year-old man drowned due to rip currents. On September 8, a 68-year-old man drowned offshore a beach in South Carolina. A 23-year-old man was caught in a rip current off the Virginia coast and died.Canada
Larry passed south of Nova Scotia on the way to Newfoundland. On the evening of September 10, an emergency position-indicating radio beacon from a yacht, Secret Plans, stolen earlier in the week in Halifax was activated more than southeast of Halifax. Wind gusts of over and seas of up to were reported in the area at the time. Resources were dispatched from the United States Coast Guard rescue co-ordination centre in Boston and the Joint [Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax]. Flares were seen but no trace was ever found of the vessel or the person believed to have been on board, an Antiguan man who had been arrested for smuggling cocaine into Canada via sailboat, and had recently escaped from custody and disappeared. The search was called off on 12 September.In Newfoundland, St. John's International Airport recorded sustained winds of and a gust of just after 05:30 UTC, while Cape St. Mary's Lighthouse reported a gust of before ceasing transmission. The waves reached heights of in Argentia and the tide gauge showed a maximum water level about higher than normal. The storm surge coincided with a high tide, exacerbating coastal flooding. This caused the coastal town of Little Bay, [Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador|Little Bay] on the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland's south coast to be evacuated. Due to Larry's fast movement, rainfall was less severe than expected. It rained from in a very short time over southeastern Newfoundland, with the highest recorded rain from Larry being in Port Rexton.
In the eastern part of the province, Larry left 61,000 people without power. Trees were uprooted and branches were littered across the ground. The Mary Queen of Peace Elementary School in St. John's was severely damaged due to high winds. The performance tent near Quidi Vidi Lake, set up for the Iceberg Alley concert festival, suffered significant damage, and a show scheduled for September 10 was cancelled in advance of Larry. Mayor Danny Breen confirmed that the hurricane caused a significant amount of damage around St. John's. The Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Transportation and Infrastructure asked motorists to avoid the area of Highway 90 in the southern Avalon Peninsula because a section was damaged. Numerous activities in the affected area and some flights at St. John's International Airport were canceled or postponed. St. Clare's Mercy Hospital lost power during the storm, leading them to temporarily stop visitations. Advance polls for the 2021 Canadian federal election were suspended in parts of St. John's.
In Lord's Cove, near Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, damage was caused to the infrastructure, including to the wharf, the seawall, and the causeway. At North Harbour, a kilometre-long stretch of the main road was washed out by large waves and storm surge. Over 90,000 salmon at an aquaculture facility off the south coast of Newfoundland died after concentrations of dissolved oxygen fell significantly while Larry passed over the area. A report by the Catastrophe Indices and Quantification stated that the insurance loss was about CA$25 million.