Hurricane Hortense (1996)

Hurricane Hortense

Category 4 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Hortense near peak intensity north of Hispaniola on September 12
Formed	September 3, 1996
Dissipated	September 16, 1996
(Extratropical after September 15)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 140 mph (220 km/h)
Lowest pressure	935 mbar (hPa); 27.61 inHg
Fatalities	39 direct
Damage	$158 million (1996 USD)
Areas affected	Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos Islands, Atlantic Canada
Part of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Hortense was the first hurricane to make landfall in Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. The eighth tropical cyclone, eighth named storm, and sixth hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season, Hortense developed on September 3 from a tropical wave in the central Atlantic Ocean.

Initially a tropical depression, it headed westward without significant strengthening for four days due to unfavorable upper-level winds. While nearing the Lesser Antilles upper-level winds decreased, allowing the depression to become Tropical Storm Hortense on September 7. Hortense crossed Guadeloupe on September 8 and entered the Caribbean Sea. By on the following day, it was upgraded to a hurricane while curving northwestward. Hortense made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 9 and brushed the Dominican Republic shortly thereafter.

After re-entering the Atlantic, Hortense began to substantially strengthen and peaked as a 140 mph (220 km/h) Category 4 hurricane early on September 13. Thereafter, the storm steadily weakened as it tracked rapidly north-northeastward. Early on September 15, Hortense made landfall in Nova Scotia as a minimal Category 1 hurricane. It quickly weakened further to a tropical storm before re-entering the Atlantic to the south of Newfoundland. Late on September 15, Hortense transitioned into an extratropical cyclone and subsequently merged with a frontal system about 24 hours later.

The storm produced heavy rainfall and gusty winds as it passed through the Lesser Antilles. On Guadeloupe, damage was most significant to crops, with over 50% of banana plantains destroyed. Localized flooding was reported on Martinique. Impact was most significant in Puerto Rico. Across the island, 11,463 houses were severely damaged. About 1.4 million people on Puerto Rico were left without electricity – equivalent to about 40% of the island's population. Damage in Puerto Rico was estimated at $153.4 million (1996 USD). There were also 19 deaths, most of which due to drowning during flash floods. In the Dominican Republic, strong winds damaged a number of buildings and houses, and downed several power lines. Flooding also forced the closure of several roads and impacted 80% of crops in Samaná Province. At least three fatalities were confirmed in that country. The storm brought strong winds to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands, and lesser winds to Bermuda.