Hurricane Lenny was the strongest November Atlantic hurricane since the 1932 Cuba hurricane. It was the sixteenth tropical cyclone, twelfth named storm, eighth hurricane, and record-breaking fifth Category 4 hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Lenny formed on November 13 in the western Caribbean Sea at around 18:00 UTC and went on to form and maintain an unusual and unprecedented easterly track for its entire duration, which gave it the common nickname, "Wrong Way Lenny". It attained hurricane status south of Jamaica on November 15 and passed south of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico over the next few days. Lenny rapidly intensified over the northeastern Caribbean on November 17, attaining peak winds of about south of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. It gradually weakened while moving through the Leeward Islands, eventually dissipating on November 23 over the open Atlantic Ocean.

Before moving through the Lesser Antilles, Lenny produced rough surf that killed two people in northern Colombia. Strong winds and rainfall resulted in heavy crop damage in southeastern Puerto Rico. Despite the hurricane's passage near Saint Croix at peak intensity, damage on the small island was only described as "moderate", although there was widespread flooding and erosion. Damage in the United States territories totaled about $330 million. The highest precipitation total was at the police station on the French side of Saint Martin. On the island, the hurricane killed three people and destroyed more than 200 properties. In nearby Antigua and Barbuda, the hurricane killed one person; torrential rainfall there contaminated the local water supply. Significant storm damage occurred as far south as Grenada, where high surf isolated towns from the capital city.

Meteorological history

Hurricane Lenny began as a low-pressure area that was first observed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on November 8. It developed an area of convection but remained poorly defined for the next few days. Thunderstorms spread across the region, producing heavy rainfall in portions of Mexico and Central America. On November 13, the system became better organized; a Hurricane Hunters flight later that day discovered a surface circulation and winds of about . The data indicated the development of Tropical Depression Sixteen at 1800 UTC, about south of the Cayman Islands. The depression's convection was fairly disorganized, and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) did not anticipate any strengthening for three days. For much of its existence, the tropical cyclone maintained a track from west to east across the Caribbean Sea, which was unprecedented in the Atlantic hurricane database, earning it the nicknames "Left-Hand Lenny" and "Wrong Way Lenny". The path resulted from its movement along the southern end of a trough over the western Atlantic Ocean. the NHC upgraded it to Tropical Storm Lenny on November 14, At 0000 UTC on November 15, Lenny attained hurricane status about southwest of Kingston, Jamaica. After moving east-southeastward during its initial development stages, the hurricane turned more to the east on November 15. The Hurricane Hunters reported winds of , which indicated that Lenny had become a Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. However, the cloud pattern subsequently became less organized as the eye disappeared, and Lenny's winds weakened to while the hurricane passed south of Hispaniola. the Hurricane Hunters reported that the eye had reformed and the hurricane's winds had reached . At the time, a ridge was expected to build to Lenny's east and turn the storm northeastward into Puerto Rico 24 hours later.

Beginning on November 16, Hurricane Lenny underwent a 24-hour period of rapid deepening, reaching major hurricane status about south of the Mona Passage. The hurricane continued to become better organized, with an eye in diameter surrounded by a closed eyewall. Around 1200 UTC on November 17, Lenny intensified into a Category 4 hurricane while approaching the islands of the northeastern Caribbean. It was the fifth storm of such intensity in the year, setting the record for most Category 4 hurricanes in a season. Shortly thereafter, Lenny attained peak winds of while passing south of the island of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. Hurricane Hunters reported Lenny's peak winds in the southeastern portion of the hurricane; the group also reported a minimum pressure of 933 mbar, a drop of 34 mbar in 24 hours. In addition, a dropsonde recorded winds of while descending to the surface, the highest dropsonde wind speed recording in a hurricane at the time. Early on November 20, the storm made landfall on Anguilla, Later that day, the cyclone exited the Caribbean, continuing its southeast track. On November 21, Lenny turned to the northeast and weakened to a tropical depression. Lenny turned to the east for the final time early on November 22, dissipating on the next day about east of the Lesser Antilles. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) activated six medical assistance teams, three medical support teams, and two advance medical assessment units. The agency stored five days' worth of food in schools in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Before the hurricane's arrival, U.S. Virgin Islands governor Charles Wesley Turnbull declared a state of emergency. In St. Croix, 309 people rode out the storm in shelters.

Governments across the eastern Caribbean issued hurricane warnings as far south as Montserrat. Most businesses and schools were closed in Antigua and Barbuda during the storm, while in Dominica, the airport was closed. Further south, there was little warning for the hurricane in Grenada, and most people left their boats in the water.

Impact

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin:0 0 0.5em 1em; float:right;"

|+Impact by country or region

|- style="text-align:center;"

! County/Region || Deaths || Damage || Source

|- style="text-align:center;"

| Colombia || 2 || unknown ||

|- style="text-align:center;"

| Antigua and Barbuda || 1 || $51.3 million ||

|- style="text-align:center;"

| Guadeloupe || 5 || $100 million ||

|- style="text-align:center;"

| Dominica || 0 || $21.5 million ||

|- style="text-align:center;"

| Saint Kitts and Nevis || 0 || $41.4 million ||

|- style="text-align:center;"

| Saint Martin || 3 || $69 million ||

|- style="text-align:center;"

| Martinique || 1 || unknown ||

|- style="text-align:center;"

| Saint Lucia || 0 || $6.6 million ||

Central Caribbean

Early in its existence, Lenny produced large waves and high tides along the Guajira Peninsula in Colombia, only two were counted in the death toll for mainland Colombia. The waves caused heavy beach erosion and coastal damage to properties and boats.

In Jamaica, the hurricane dropped heavy rainfall but left little damage. Rains in the Dominican Republic caused flooding in the country's southwest portion. Flooding around Les Cayes in southwestern Haiti destroyed 60 percent of the rice, corn, and banana plantations, while high waves wrecked several houses in Cavaellon. Tides in San Juan were about above normal. There, high seas washed a freighter ashore. Winds in the Puerto Rican mainland were not significant, gusting to in Ceiba. The storm left 22,000 people without power and 103,000 people without water.

Virgin Islands

left|thumb|Property damage on the island of Saint Croix

After passing southeast of Puerto Rico, Hurricane Lenny struck St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, although its strongest winds remained southeast of the island. There, gusts reached , while sustained winds officially peaked around . Strong winds damaged the roofs of many houses in eastern St. Croix Property damage in the British Virgin Islands totaled $5.6 million (1999 USD); however, the damage combined with the loss of tourism and productivity yielded a loss of $22 million to the islands' economy, or 3.1 percent of the gross domestic product.

right|thumb|Rainfall totals from Lenny|300px

Northern Leeward Islands

Anguilla

The eye of Lenny moved over Anguilla, an island located east of the British Virgin Islands. The hurricane struck only a month after Hurricane Jose had affected the region, causing significant beach erosion along Anguilla's coastline. Damage from Lenny amounted to $65.8 million.

Saint Barthélémy and Saint Martin

On Saint Barthélemy, the hurricane produced record-breaking precipitation of around . Waves reached on the island's western portion. There was widespread destruction of the roofs of houses across the island, Damage was estimated at $69 million, and there were three deaths on the Dutch side of St. Martin. Damage in the country of Antigua and Barbuda totaled $51.3 million,

Saint Kitts, Nevis and Montserrat

The hurricane's waves reached along the coasts of Saint Kitts and Nevis, washing up to inland. Several businesses were flooded, and some beach erosion was reported. Heavy rains caused mudslides on Saint Kitts, Damage in the country amounted to $41.4 million.

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe received record precipitation amounts in some areas, generally ranging from . On Basse-Terre, the western island of Guadeloupe, the hurricane produced a significant wave height of , with estimates as high as . There were five deaths, especially from drowning and electrocution in Guadeloupe and damage in the island totaled at least $100 million.

Aftermath

right|thumb|Damage to the [[Frederiksted Pier in St. Croix]]

Following heavy damage to the coral reef around Curaçao, workers placed reef balls to assist in replenishing the damaged structure. In Puerto Rico, workers quickly responded to power and water outages. Similarly on Saint Croix, power systems were quickly restored. On November 23, U.S. President Bill Clinton declared the U.S. Virgin Islands a disaster area. This allocated federal funding for loans to public and private entities and provided 75 percent of the cost of debris removal. By December 10, nearly 3,000 residents had applied for assistance, mostly on St. Croix. In response, the federal government provided about $480,000 to the affected people. The United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance provided $185,000, mostly directed toward the United Nations Development Programme, for aid to other islands in the eastern Caribbean. Other agencies, including the Caribbean Development Bank, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, and the European Union, provided $1.1 million in assistance. The government of Dominica provided 42 families with temporary shelters. With a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank, the government worked to complete a sea wall along a highway south of its capital Roseau. The Saint Lucian government provided housing to 70 families. In Grenada, workers repaired the road system to allow fuel transportation across the island and began to reclaim land near its airport to mitigate erosion. Across the eastern Caribbean, local Red Cross offices provided food and shelter to affected citizens. High damage to tourist areas caused a short term suspension of cruise ship arrivals. A damaged hotel in Nevis left 800 people unemployed due to its closure.

Retirement

Due to its effects, the name Lenny was retired by the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 2000, and will never again be used for an Atlantic hurricane. The name was replaced with Lee in the 2005 season.

See also

  • List of Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes
  • List of South America hurricanes
  • Timeline of the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season
  • Hurricane Klaus (1990) – A Category 1 hurricane that impacted similar areas
  • Hurricane Omar (2008) – A Category 4 hurricane that impacted similar areas
  • Hurricane Paloma (2008) – Another intense Category 4 hurricane that struck Cuba

Notes

  • National Hurricane Center Preliminary Report on Lenny
  • Hurricane Lenny's trajectory
  • Hydrometeorological Prediction Center Rainfall Report on Lenny