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 150 mph (240 km/h) Category 4 hurricane. After striking the Leeward Islands, Luis moved northwest of the Greater Antilles then curved and weakened as it accelerated northeastward. Late on September 10, Luis transitioned to an extratropical cyclone, restrengthened, and made landfall on Newfoundland.
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 (mostly in Anguilla, Barbuda, and St. Martin), and affected more than 70,000 people. Total damage was estimated at $3.3 billion (1995 USD) across the affected areas. 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 (NHC) 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 540 miles (870 km) 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 345 to 365 miles (555 to 587 km) 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 135 mph (217 km/h), and its central pressure had dropped from 945 to 942 mbar (27.9 to 27.8 inHg). Luis maintained its Category 4 intensity until September 7, when it was situated approximately 150 mi (240 km) north of Puerto Rico. After seven consecutive days as a major hurricane with maximum sustained winds of at least 115 mph (185 km/h) beginning on September 1, the storm gradually re-curved over the northern Atlantic as a Category 2 hurricane, its wind speed dropping to 110 mph (180 km/h). On September 9, the center of the storm passed 200 miles (320 km) 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. A ship in the path of the storm reported winds of 138 mph (222 km/h), and Luis was estimated to have maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (190 km/h) as it struck Newfoundland on September 11.
Preparations
Three days before passing over the northern Lesser Antilles, Luis became a Category 4 hurricane and was forecast 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.
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