Hurricane Lenny
| Category 4 hurricane ( SSHWS ) | ||
|---|---|---|
 on November 17, 1999 south of St. Croix |
||
| Emergence | November 13, 1999 | |
| resolution | November 23, 1999 | |
|
Peak wind speed |
|
|
| Lowest air pressure | 933 mbar ( hPa ; 27.6 inHg ) | |
| dead | 17th | |
| Property damage | $ 330 million (1999) | |
|
Affected areas |
Colombia , Puerto Rico , West Indies | |
| Season overview: 1999 Atlantic hurricane season |
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Hurricane Lenny was the twelfth tropical storm, eighth hurricane, and fifth major hurricane during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season . Lenny was the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in November, and it was unusual for it to migrate west to east across the Caribbean .
Lenny caused heavy rains on the Leeward Islands , previously only a month by Hurricane Jose thus had been hit and caused even more damage in the area, which is still by the effects of Hurricane Georges recovered the year 1998th
Storm course
An extensive depression had formed on November 8th in the southwestern Caribbean. It moved slowly in a northerly direction and gradually organized itself with the help of warmer water temperatures and slight wind shear at altitude. By November 13, the disturbance had become so organized that it was classified 300 nautical miles west southwest of Kingston , Jamaica as Tropical Depression Sixteen. The conditions were favorable for the storm to develop and on November 14th the low pressure area was upgraded to Tropical Storm Lenny.
Lenny headed east-southeast. This movement was due in part to the southern part of a trough over the western Atlantic Ocean . On November 15, Lenny intensified into a hurricane south of Jamaica, reaching Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale later that day. The small inner core was disturbed by changes in the environment and Lenny weakened to a poorly formed Category 1 hurricane.
The inner core renewed on November 16 and Lenny intensified rapidly over the northeastern Caribbean into a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 250 km / h before sweeping over Saint Croix on November 17 . A high pressure chain in the west and another in the north forced the hurricane across the Leeward Islands between November 17 and 19 . Upwelling constantly weakened Lenny when he moved east-southeast across the islands of St. Martin , Anguilla , Saint-Barthélemy and Antigua on November 18 and 19 . When he left the islands behind, high winds and a cool surface water temperature weakened Lenny, initially to a tropical storm on November 19 and to a tropical depression on November 21 in the open Atlantic Ocean. Lenny then headed northeast and disbanded far from the mainland on November 23rd.
Hurricane Lenny, also known as the "Wrong Way Lenny" (in German roughly: "Ghost Driver Lenny" ) was unusual in several ways. He crossed the Caribbean from west to east, exactly the opposite of the usual migratory pattern of Atlantic hurricanes. In fact, it was the first time that such a trajectory had been recorded in the 113-year history of hurricane observations in the Atlantic Basin. The last hurricane to hit the western islands of the Lesser Antilles was Hurricane Klaus during the 1984 hurricane season .
Lenny's peak, with winds of 250 km / h, stayed just below Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and Lenny became the strongest November hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin.
Lenny was the fifth hurricane to reach Category 4 during the 1999 season, breaking the record for the number of storms of this magnitude in a season. (This record was later set during the 2005 hurricane season .)
Preparations
Lenny had been predicted to cross the Leeward Islands as a Category 3 hurricane, and islanders were surprised by the intensification to Category 4. Hurricane warnings were issued for most of the island chain the day before the storm arrived. In preparation for the rescue and clean-up work, FEMA teams were brought to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. These brought medical professionals, 6,000 rolls of tarpaulin, 112 generating sets, and 90,000 gallons of drinking water with them.
Effects
| State / Territory | dead |
|---|---|
| Colombia | 2 |
| Saint Martin | 3 |
| Guadeloupe | 5 |
| Martinique | 1 |
| At sea | 6th |
| total | 17th |
A total of 17 deaths are attributed to Hurricane Lenny. The Category 4 winds caused widespread destruction in the northeastern Caribbean Sea area , with damage totaling US $ 330 million as far as United States territories were affected.
Colombia
In the early stages of the hurricane, Lenny caused high waves on the coast of the Guajira Peninsula in Colombia . Two sailors were killed when their yacht was lost in the south of the Caribbean Sea. On the coast, Lenny flooded 1,200 houses and made 540 people homeless. The storm also caused crop damage.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico was spared a direct hit despite the original predictions. However, the outer band structure caused heavy rainfall that totaled 372mm in Jayuya , causing mudslides in the southwest of the island. More than 4,700 residents were in emergency shelters, 80,000 lacked electrical energy and 100,000 islanders had no safe drinking water.
Leeward Islands
On his way across the Windward Islands, Lenny first met Saint Croix . The unprotected southwestern side of the island suffered for hours from heavy rain, the amount of which amounted to 200 mm, wind speeds of 250 km / h, strong waves and a 4.5 m high surf. The wind and rain mainly affected agriculture. Many boats sank or were driven off in the north of the island. Although the damage was great, there was no extreme damage or death.
Lenny then met St. Martin , Anguilla , Saint-Barthélemy, and Antigua . Huge amounts of rain fell on these islands, reaching 700 mm on St. Martin. The resulting landslides destroyed many houses. The extensive surf, strong winds and 3.5 m high waves caused significant coastal erosion on the western side of the islands . This side is usually little affected by hurricanes. Agriculture, fishing and tourism have been harmed on these islands.
Due to its large wind field, Lenny also had an impact on Guadeloupe , Dominica , St. Lucia , St. Vincent , the Grenadines , Barbuda , Martinique and Montserrat . Waves six meters high hit the islands and damaged buildings. Heavy rain and strong winds caused a total of six deaths on these islands. In Dominica, hotels on the west coast were badly damaged, 35% of the banana harvest was lost and 40% of the coastal roads were washed away. On Barbuda, 95% of the crops were destroyed and 65% of the island was flooded.
consequences
US President Bill Clinton declared after the storm for the US Virgin Islands, the state of emergency , which the Islanders allowed the use of federal aid.
The name Lenny was removed from the list of tropical cyclone names by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 2000 and will never be used again for an Atlantic hurricane. For the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season , the name was replaced by Lee .
Web links
- National Hurricane Center Preliminary Report on Lenny
- Hurricane Lenny's trajectory
- Hydrometeorological Prediction Center Rainfall Report on Lenny
- Lenny News Reports
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i NHC Lenny Report
- ↑ a b c Gary Oadgett. Australianservereweather.com: November 1999 Tropical Summary
- ^ Hurricane / Typhoon Records
- ↑ Reliefweb: FEMA Mobilizes in Response to Hurricane Lenny ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , November 16, 1999
- ↑ Colombia News Report ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Hydrometeorological Prediction Center : Lenny Rainfall Totals ( Memento of the original from October 8, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Reuters. Carol Bareuther. Hurricane Lenny pounds Caribbean ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , November 18, 1999
- ↑ Overall Caribbean Effects ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ BBC News : "Hurricane Lenny abates," Nov. 20, 1999
