Meteorological Analysis
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Lenny originated from an area of low pressure which was over the southwestern
Caribbean on November 8th. The low organized slowly offshore of Central
America while bringing squally weather inland. The low finally formed a closed
surface circulation on the 13th and was declared a tropical depression, about
150 nm S of the Cayman Islands. The depression then strengthened into
tropical storm Lenny by the 14th, and started to undergo rapid intensification
late in the day. Lenny reached hurricane intensity on the 15th and the
strengthening cycle leveled out at 100 mph. The eyewall then collapsed from
contracting too much and Lenny weakened down to 85 mph until late on the
16th. Meanwhile, Lenny began to accelerate eastwards around the 15th under a trough. This
caused Lenny to have a 'backwards' track, resulting in the storm being
affectionately known as Wrong Way Lenny. Starting on the 16th Lenny
underwent another burst of rapid intensification under favorable environmental
conditions. Lenny reached a peak intensity of 155 mph with a pressure of
933 mb on the 17th before starting to weaken due to cool up welled waters and
inner core cycles. Lenny then slowed as steering currents became weak
in between upper level systems, and Lenny slowly moved into the Leeward
Islands. Lenny passed over St. Croix on the 17th at its max intensity and
moved into St. Maarten on the 18th at a weaker intensity. Lenny then began to
rapidly weaken due to the choking effect of cool up welled waters and was
downgraded into a tropical storm near Antigua on the 19th. Lenny then turned
SE on the 19th and continued to weaken. Lenny weakened into a depression
by the 21st as it moved erratically over the Atlantic and dissipated on the 23rd,
about 600 nm E of the Leeward Islands.
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Casualty and Damage Overview
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17 deaths are attributed to Lenny, with 6 offshore, 5 in Guadeloupe, 3 in
St. Maarten, 2 in Colombia, and 1 in Martinique. Most of the onshore deaths
were caused by flooding due to Lenny's heavy rains. Widespread damage was
reported across the Lesser Antilles and the Virgin Islands due to angry seas
and flooding associated with Lenny. Many buildings and boats were damaged
or destroyed. Damage was also reported in the northern part of the Lesser
Antilles. Total U.S. damage from Lenny is estimated to be $330 million.
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Lenny Hurricane Research Division Products
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Imagery
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Note: The outline of land is not available on Puerto Rico Radar Imagery, use
the radar clutter as a point of reference, as that is San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Tracking Data
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Hurricane Lenny
Time Lat Lon Wind(mph) Pressure Storm type
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
18 GMT 11/13/99 16.7N 81.6W 35 1003 Tropical Depression
0 GMT 11/14/99 16.5N 81.1W 35 1003 Tropical Depression
6 GMT 11/14/99 16.4N 80.5W 35 1002 Tropical Depression
12 GMT 11/14/99 16.4N 79.9W 45 1000 Tropical Storm
18 GMT 11/14/99 16.3N 79.3W 65 992 Tropical Storm
0 GMT 11/15/99 16.0N 78.6W 80 988 Category 1 Hurricane
6 GMT 11/15/99 15.5N 77.7W 85 977 Category 1 Hurricane
12 GMT 11/15/99 15.1N 76.4W 100 971 Category 2 Hurricane
18 GMT 11/15/99 14.8N 74.8W 85 983 Category 1 Hurricane
0 GMT 11/16/99 15.1N 73.4W 85 982 Category 1 Hurricane
6 GMT 11/16/99 15.1N 72.0W 85 974 Category 1 Hurricane
12 GMT 11/16/99 15.1N 70.5W 100 971 Category 2 Hurricane
18 GMT 11/16/99 15.5N 69.0W 100 967 Category 2 Hurricane
0 GMT 11/17/99 15.9N 67.6W 115 959 Category 3 Hurricane
6 GMT 11/17/99 16.4N 66.5W 120 952 Category 3 Hurricane
12 GMT 11/17/99 16.8N 65.5W 135 946 Category 4 Hurricane
18 GMT 11/17/99 17.4N 64.8W 155 933 Category 4 Hurricane
0 GMT 11/18/99 17.6N 64.2W 150 940 Category 4 Hurricane
6 GMT 11/18/99 17.8N 63.9W 145 944 Category 4 Hurricane
12 GMT 11/18/99 17.9N 63.6W 140 953 Category 4 Hurricane
18 GMT 11/18/99 18.0N 63.3W 125 966 Category 3 Hurricane
0 GMT 11/19/99 18.1N 63.1W 100 975 Category 2 Hurricane
6 GMT 11/19/99 18.0N 62.9W 85 979 Category 1 Hurricane
12 GMT 11/19/99 17.9N 62.8W 80 986 Category 1 Hurricane
18 GMT 11/19/99 17.6N 62.5W 70 994 Tropical Storm
0 GMT 11/20/99 17.3N 61.8W 65 994 Tropical Storm
6 GMT 11/20/99 17.0N 61.1W 65 995 Tropical Storm
12 GMT 11/20/99 16.5N 60.4W 60 996 Tropical Storm
18 GMT 11/20/99 15.9N 59.8W 50 998 Tropical Storm
0 GMT 11/21/99 16.0N 59.0W 45 998 Tropical Storm
6 GMT 11/21/99 16.5N 58.1W 35 998 Tropical Depression
12 GMT 11/21/99 17.2N 57.1W 35 999 Tropical Depression
18 GMT 11/21/99 18.0N 56.7W 30 1000 Tropical Depression
0 GMT 11/22/99 18.4N 56.1W 30 1001 Tropical Depression
6 GMT 11/22/99 18.5N 55.7W 30 1002 Tropical Depression
12 GMT 11/22/99 18.5N 55.3W 30 1004 Tropical Depression
18 GMT 11/22/99 18.5N 54.7W 25 1005 Tropical Depression
0 GMT 11/23/99 18.5N 53.8W 25 1006 Tropical Depression
6 GMT 11/23/99 18.5N 52.8W 25 1006 Tropical Depression
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Tracking maps courtesy of NHC
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Selected Satellite Image
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