Hurricane Lili

Hurricane Lili was the second costliest, second deadliest, and most intense hurricane of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, only surpassed by Hurricane Isidore, which affected the same areas around a week before Lili. Lili was the twelfth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm developed from a tropical disturbance in the open Atlantic on September 21. It continued westward, affecting the Lesser Antilles as a tropical storm, then entered the Caribbean. As it moved west, the storm dissipated while being affected by wind shear south of Cuba, and regenerated when the vertical wind shear weakened. It turned to the northwest and strengthened up to Category 2 strength on October 1. Lili made two landfalls in western Cuba later that day, and then entered the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane rapidly strengthened on October 2, reaching Category 4 strength that afternoon. It weakened rapidly thereafter, and hit Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane on October 3. It moved inland and dissipated on October 6. In the United States, the storm cut off the production of oil within the Gulf of Mexico, and caused severe damage in parts of Louisiana. Lili was also responsible for severe damage to the barrier islands and marshes in the southern portion of the state. Total damage amounted to $925 million (2002 USD), and the storm killed 15 people during its existence.

Meteorological history

A tropical wave moved off the west coast of Africa on September 16. A low level center of circulation developed from a tropical disturbance spawned by this tropical wave midway between the African coast and the Caribbean on September 20. The next day, the system gained sufficient organization to become a tropical depression. The depression moved westward in excess of , and reached tropical storm strength-becoming Tropical Storm Lili as it passed through the Windward Islands. The cyclone continued to intensify as it moved west through the Caribbean Sea, reaching an initial peak strength of on the morning of September 24. This was immediately followed by an abrupt weakening, and the storm's maximum sustained winds dropped to later that day. The sudden weakening was attributed to strong southerly vertical shear. The system degenerated into an open tropical wave the next morning, and remained in that state for nearly two days. Lili regenerated near Jamaica on the evening of September 26 and gradually turned more to the west-northwest while strengthening. The storm continued on its course while continuing to intensify, and made landfall twice the next day, on the Isle of Youth and near Pinar del Río as a Category 2 hurricane. Lili emerged over the Gulf of Mexico later that day, having lost little strength during its overland passage.

thumb|Hurricane Lili over the Gulf of Mexico seen from the [[International Space Station (ISS) on October 2]]

The system turned to the northwest and sped up, becoming a major hurricane on October 2 while south-southeast of New Orleans. This intensification continued, aided by warm sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and good outflow. The system reached its peak strength of Category 4 intensity, with winds of , during that afternoon. However, this strength was not maintained for long. The storm began to quickly weaken in the early morning hours of October 3, and this rapid weakening continued until the hurricane's final landfall near Intracoastal City, Louisiana, due to a combination of vertical wind shear, cool waters just offshore Louisiana, and slowly encroaching dry air within its southwest quadrant. By the time of landfall, maximum sustained winds had dropped to . The weakening was accompanied by a collapse of the inner eyewall before landfall.

Preparations in most of the Lesser Antilles were minimal as the storm only hit as a tropical storm. Two hundred people evacuated their homes in advance of the storm on the islands of St. Vincent and Grenadine.

Preparations were extensive in Cuba. Military officials at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp prepared for the possibility of evacuating their Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners. A total of 130,000 Cuban citizens, mainly in western portions of the island, evacuated their homes prior to the storm.

thumb|upright=1.2|Strike probabilities associated with Lili while still out in the south-central Gulf of Mexico

Significant action was taken along the Gulf Coast as the threat the storm posed, predicted to come ashore at Category Four strength, became more urgent. Over a half million people evacuated their homes in Texas and Louisiana, including everyone in Iberia Parish. A total of 200,000 people evacuated in Louisiana. At least 2,000 volunteers staffed 115 Red Cross shelters in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. More than 20,000 people stayed in those shelters. Stores across the warning area were very busy in advance of the storm. In New Iberia, Louisiana, hardware stores ran out of stock, and businesses in Lafayette, Louisiana reported similar shortages.

Collegiate activities were also affected by the storm. Southern University canceled four days of classes because of Lili, and 20 Texas A&M University Galveston, Texas students evacuated to the school's College Station location. The University of South Alabama canceled two athletic events in advance of the storm.

Impact

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

|+ Death toll by area

! State/country

! Deaths

| Saint Lucia

| 4

| Jamaica

| 4

| Haiti

| 4

| Cuba

| 1

| United States

| 2

! Total

! 15

Hurricane Lili was both the second deadliest and the second costliest hurricane of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season (Isidore killed 22 people and damaged $1.28 billion worth of property). A total of 13 people died in the Caribbean Islands, and two more were killed in the United States. The winds, combined with poor construction, tore the roofs off numerous homes and businesses. The majority of the damage was dealt to primarily to the banana crop. Extensive loss of electricity and telephone service also occurred. Damage totaled at nearly $200,000 (2002 USD).

Grenada also experienced moderate damage. A total of 14 homes' roofs

were damaged, and one was completely destroyed. The island Medical Centre's roof was also damaged, and 12 landslides were reported. This caused the Ravine du Sud River to overflow, and submerge buildings in the town. Two people died in the mudslides these rains triggered, and two more drowned in the flooding around Camp-Perrin. The floods also seriously damaged crops and infrastructure; over 1700 homes were damaged and 240 were destroyed. Haiti was affected dramatically and many towns and villages submerged into rivers exceeding their bankfull discharge The flooding caused latrines and other sewage sources to overflow into the intake sources for the water supply, leading to fear of disease.

Damage to buildings and other infrastructure was significant. The most severely affected provinces were Pinar del Río and La Habana. A total of 48,000 homes were damaged, 16,000 of them lost their roofs. The province Sancti Spiritus was not affected as severely, as only 945 homes were damaged, with 500 losing their roofs. The provinces in Eastern Cuba, including Guantanamo, suffered similar damage. Electricity outages for whole towns lasted weeks in parts of the western provinces. This led to loss of running water due to unpowered pumps, and deliveries of fresh water had to be made to remote villages.

Louisiana

thumb|left|Lili Storm Total Rainfall in the United States

Lili made landfall on the morning of October 3 near Intracoastal City, as a weakening category one hurricane.

Vermillion Parish, the point of landfall, was hardest hit. Wind gusts in excess of , along with a storm surge of dealt major damage to nearly 4000 homes. Thousands of homes were damaged with over 2,500 suffering severe damage. Power across the parish was knocked out, 2 people were injured and one was killed after the storm. Schools in the parish also sustained $1.6 million (2002 USD) in damage. Pascagoula, Mississippi, recorded wind gusts of , and Picayune, Mississippi, received of rainfall. Minor power outages occurred, mainly in southern Mississippi, and combined with the flooding of roads and buildings caused $30 million (2002 USD) in damage. No deaths occurred in Mississippi. FEMA set up three locations to apply in Mississippi and Louisiana. Applications began pouring in, 153,000 by the time of the deadline. Over $311 million in aid was granted to Louisiana. A total of $50 million of that money was in the form of low interest loans, and not actual grants.

Over 1,000 power workers from eight different states went to the worst hit areas to help restore power. Seven states sent tree trimmers to help clear debris from power lines and roads to speed the recovery process. In addition, FEMA gave SLEMCO, the state's power company, an $8.6 million grant, which paid for 75% of the damage to the electrical grid there. It took up to four weeks to restore power to all customers.

Hurricane Lili caused great environmental damage to the marshes and barrier islands in Louisiana. Huge fish kills were observed in marshes near the landfall point, and in the Atchafalaya Swamp. The barrier islands to the east of the landfall point, those subjected to the highest surge, were severely eroded. Sand was also deposited behind them into the brackish marshes, burying vegetation. The freshwater marshes were severely damaged by the wind and surge, some of them completely destroyed. The severe erosion created new waterways connecting inland bodies of water with the Gulf of Mexico, which eventually led to further erosion of inland lagoons.

Retirement

Due to the widespread and heavy damage caused by the hurricane, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Lili in the spring of 2003. It was replaced with Laura for the 2008 season.

References

External links

- American Red Cross