Hurricane Emily (1987)

Hurricane Emily

Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Emily near its peak as a Category 3 hurricane on September 22
Formed	September 20, 1987
Dissipated	September 26, 1987
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 125 mph (205 km/h)
Lowest pressure	958 mbar (hPa); 28.29 inHg
Fatalities	2 direct, 1 indirect
Damage	$80.3 million (1987 USD)
Areas affected	Lesser Antilles, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Bermuda
Part of the 1987 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Emily was the only major hurricane to develop during the below-average 1987 Atlantic hurricane season. Forming out of a tropical disturbance that moved off the west coast of Africa on September 20, the storm quickly attained hurricane status before undergoing rapid intensification. On September 22, the storm attained its peak intensity with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 958 mbar (hPa; 28.29 inHg). The storm weakened slightly to Category 2 status before making landfall in the Dominican Republic. After weakening to a tropical storm, Emily rapidly tracked northeastward through the Atlantic Ocean, undergoing a second phase of rapid intensification before passing directly over Bermuda on September 25. The following day the final public advisory from the National Hurricane Center was issued on the storm as it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone.

Hurricane Emily brought heavy rains and strong winds in the Windward Islands on September 21, leaving numerous homes damaged and severe losses in the banana industry. Losses throughout the islands amounted to $291,000. In the Dominican Republic, despite the storm's high intensity, relatively moderate damage occurred. Three people were killed by the storm and damages amounted to $30 million. Unexpected intensification of the storm led to severe impact in Bermuda. The storm caused $50 million in damages and injured 16 people.

Hurricane Emily originated out of a tropical disturbance, associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), that moved off the west coast of Africa on September 13. Tracking westward at a low latitude, the system fluctuated in organization, with the development and weakening of deep convection and weak outflow for several days. By September 18, the disturbance entered a region where there was sinking air, an inhibiting factor of tropical cyclone development. Two days later, the system separated from the ITCZ and quickly developed into a tropical depression, the twelfth of the season, while located about 605 miles (975 kilometers) southeast of Barbados.