Hurricane Luis
Hurricane Luis was a long-lived and powerful tropical cyclone that severely affected the Leeward Islands during the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season. The system formed from a tropical wave, south of Cape Verde islands west of Africa, on August 28, and attained tropical storm status on August 29. The storm reached hurricane status on August 31 and later developed into a Category 4 hurricane. Luis affected the Leeward Islands at this strength from September 4 to September 6. By the time Luis made landfall on Newfoundland, it had weakened down to a Category 1 hurricane and then became extratropical on September 11.
Luis caused extensive damage to Antigua, St. Barthelemy, the island of St. Martin and Anguilla as it affected Bermuda. The storm accounted for 19 confirmed deaths, left nearly 20,000 homeless, and affected more than 70,000 people. Total damage was estimated at $3.3 billion across the affected areas.
Earlier Category 4 storms that impacted the Leeward Islands in the 20th century include Hurricane Dog in 1950, Hurricane David in 1979, and Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Luis was the second of three tropical cyclones to affect Guadeloupe in a short period; Hurricane Iris had hit a week before, and Hurricane Marilyn only 10 days after.
Meteorological history
On August 26, 1995, an area of disturbed weather associated with a tropical wave emerged over the eastern Atlantic Ocean, between the western coast of Africa and the Cape Verde Islands. A low-level circulation center formed and moved westward until it developed a weak surface low on August 27, and at around 1200 UTC on August 27, the National Hurricane Center designated the system as Tropical Depression Thirteen. 36 hours later, on August 29, the NHC upgraded the system to Tropical Storm Luis. Although convective activity fluctuated over the next two days as the result of a nearby wind shear, the storm continued to intensify as pressure rose. When the wind shear relented, an eye began to form, and the system attained hurricane status on August 31. It was classified as a Category 3 major hurricane 18 hours later.As it tracked north-northwestward, Hurricane Luis continued to strengthen, and became a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale on September 2. As it turned further westward, the cyclone maintained a rectilinear slow motion, and the intensity was confirmed by a reconnaissance flight on September 3. At the time of the flight, Luis was located approximately east of the Lesser Antilles. The storm began to accelerate slightly as it moved along a subtropical ridge, due to the absorption of Tropical Storm Karen by the stronger Iris.
By the time that it approached the Lesser Antilles on September 4, Luis had sustained a wind field measuring from in diameter. On the morning of September 5, the islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe, which experienced hurricane-force winds on the northeastern coast of Grande-Terre and La Désirade, had been relatively spared by the storm. The eyewall of the hurricane, however, skimmed Antigua and directly passed over Barbuda as it slowly weakened. During this time, the storm proceeded slowly northwestward, causing moderate damage to Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. Later, Luis moved along St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, and ultimately crossed Anguilla, where the most powerful winds within the eyewall were estimated to have reached, and its central pressure had dropped from.
Luis maintained its Category 4 intensity until September 7, when it was situated approximately north of Puerto Rico. After seven consecutive days as a major hurricane with maximum sustained winds of at least beginning on September 1, the storm gradually re-curved over the northern Atlantic as a Category 2 hurricane, its wind speed dropping to. On September 9, the center of the storm passed to the west of Bermuda, causing minor damage. Later that day, the storm began to accelerate as it traveled northeast, ahead of a strong trough located to the northwest of Luis. On the afternoon of September 10, Luis began to undergo an extratropical transition as it rapidly approached the Canadian coastline. Due to the rapid movement of the storm, significant weakening did not occur until Luis was at an unusually high latitude. The NHC reported that the central pressure of the storm decreased to, and sustained winds did not exceed.
Luis maintained this intensity until September 11, when it reached the Avalon Peninsula in eastern Newfoundland, where cold, dry air became entrenched in its circulation, and the system began to merge with the approaching trough. The NHC issued their final advisory on Hurricane Luis at 0900 UTC on September 11, 1995. The hurricane sped at nearly to the northeast before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone. The extratropical remains persisted for 30 more hours over the North Atlantic Ocean before being absorbed by the trough near the southern coast of Greenland late on September 12.
Preparations
Three days before passing over the northern Lesser Antilles, Luis became a Category 4 hurricane and was forecasted to avoid areas well to the north, following the path set by Humberto and Karen. However, as Karen neared Iris, it was weakened and absorbed by the stronger storm. This, and the nearby subtropical ridge, ended up steering Luis to the west.Caribbean
Due to its slow motion, Luis allowed local officials ample time to prepare. Before the storm's arrival, a total of 17 tropical cyclone watches and warnings were declared in several areas throughout the Caribbean. Over the course of September 3, Antigua, Barbuda, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Martin, Saba, St. Eustatius, Dominica, Guadeloupe, and St. Barthelemy were placed under hurricane watch. At 0000 UTC on September 4, this was upgraded to a hurricane warning for the region from Antigua to St. Martin, and a tropical storm warning for Dominica and Guadeloupe. Six hours later, the British and United States Virgin Islands, as well as Puerto Rico, were placed under hurricane watch. By 2100 UTC, those regions had been upgraded to warning, as well as St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, and Dominica, with Saint Lucia and Martinique under a tropical storm warning.At 1200 UTC on September 5, the tropical storm warning for St. Lucia was discontinued, and nine hours later, Dominica was downgraded to a tropical storm warning. Throughout September 6–8, all warnings were either downgraded or discontinued. Bermuda was placed under tropical storm watch at 2100 UTC on September 7. This watch was upgraded to a warning at 1500 UTC the next day, and discontinued at 0900 UTC on the 10th.
Canada
The Canadian Hurricane Centre began issuing advisories on the morning of September 8, about 48 hours before Luis' entry into the center's coverage area, as the storm's trajectory began to curve east of Florida. The Maritimes center of the Meteorological Service of Canada issued warnings for the affected areas as early as September 9, 36 hours before the arrival of the storm.Impact
Lesser Antilles
Antigua and Barbuda
As a result of a direct hit from the Category 4 hurricane, Barbuda experienced and over of rain, contributing to very extensive damage. According to Lester Bird, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, most houses were damaged or eradicated at 70% in Barbuda, and nearly 45% of the residences on Antigua were damaged or destroyed by the hurricane as it passed near to the north of the island. Across the islands, numerous inhabitants experienced power outages and disrupted water systems. The storm ultimately accounted for three deaths, and injured 165 locals. 32,000 inhabitants on both islands were greatly affected, with 1,700 forced to take shelter, and approximately 3,000 left homeless. A United States station on Antigua lost its wind recording equipment when gusts reached and minimum pressure at, while an amateur radio reported an unconfirmed gust of in Barbuda. Throughout the country, the total damage from the storm was estimated at $350 million, or 60% of the country's Gross Domestic Product, with most of the damage on Barbuda.Guadeloupe
Luis caused some damage as it passed near north of Guadeloupe, predominantly to Grande-Terre. Hurricane-force conditions resulted in moderate damage to homes and roofs, uprooted trees, and severe beach erosion. The Basse-Terre region, meanwhile, received minor damage, except to banana crops that were damaged at nearly 90%, and sugar cane crops on the north at nearly 20%. Overall, of rain were recorded in the islands, while the mountain regions recorded up to. The highest rainfall within the 48-hour period was in La Grande Soufrière, where of rain damaged the west coast roads and washed away houses.The meteorological office in Raizet recorded sustained winds of, with gusts that reached near. The office also reported a fall in minimal pressure to between 3 and 4am on September 5, and a total of of rain across the whole period. Only Desirade, the easternmost island, recorded hurricane-force winds of, and a sustained gust at between 3 and 4am on September 5, with a pressure. The storm claimed the life of a 19-year-old French tourist, who had been dragged away by vigorous waves on a pier in eastern Saint-François. The total damage was estimated at 250 million francs, mostly for the crops and roads.