Hurricane Lili (1996)

Hurricane Lili

Category 3 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Lili as a Category 3 hurricane over the Bahamas
Formed	October 14, 1996
Dissipated	October 30, 1996
(Extratropical after October 27, 1996)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 115 mph (185 km/h)
Lowest pressure	960 mbar (hPa); 28.35 inHg
Fatalities	22 total
Damage	$662 million (1996 USD)
Areas affected	Central America, Cuba, Florida, Bahamas, Bermuda, Ireland, Great Britain
Part of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Lili was a relatively long-lived hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season that affected countries from Central America to the United Kingdom. Lili formed on October 14 from a tropical wave, which emerged from the coast of west Africa on October 4. After the storm formed, further strengthening of Lili was gradual, first to tropical storm status on October 16 and then to hurricane status on October 17. The next day, Lili struck Cuba and moved across the central portion of the island, the first hurricane to hit the country since Hurricane Kate in 1985. After emerging into the Atlantic Ocean, the hurricane accelerated northeastward, briefly peaking as a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale near the Bahamas. For almost an entire week, Hurricane Lili oscillated in intensity while fluctuating several times in forward speed. About two weeks passed before Lili transitioned into an extratropical storm north of the Azores on October 27, which subsequently moved across Ireland and Great Britain.

Early in its duration, Lili caused flooding in Central America that left thousands homeless and killed 14 people. Damage was heaviest in Cuba, mostly due to the hurricane's heavy rainfall which totaled 29.41 in (747 mm). The hurricane affected 11 Cuban provinces, damaging 92,542 houses and destroying another 6,369. The rains heavily damaged the sugar cane and banana crops, and overall damage in the country was estimated at $362 million (1996 USD). After 269,995 people were evacuated in advance of Lili, there were no deaths in the country. In nearby Florida, one person died after being swept into a drain during the storm's heavy rains. Moisture from Lili also fueled a storm that struck the northeastern United States, which contributed indirectly to a death when a man in Maine tried driving across a flooded roadway. Damage in the Bahamas was not severe, limited to some damaged roofs and downed trees. When the remnants of Lili struck Ireland and the United Kingdom, it produced strong winds and high seas that damaged hundreds of houses, causing $300 million in damage (1996 USD) and six deaths.

On October 4, a tropical wave exited the west coast of Africa with a large associated circulation. Unfavorable wind shear prevented any development, and the wave continued westward, entering the Caribbean Sea on October 11. Two days later, the wave axis encountered a pre-existing low pressure area in the southwest Caribbean. It quickly developed a well-defined circulation, becoming a tropical depression on October 14 off the east coast of Nicaragua. Due to an upper-level low in the Gulf of Mexico, the system tracked to the northwest, brushing Central America in its path. The depression developed banding features as the pressure gradually dropped, and intensified into Tropical Storm Lili at around 0600 UTC on October 16. During this time, the storm executed a small cyclonic loop while a few hundred miles north of the Swan Islands. By early on October 17, Lili had attained hurricane status while it was turning to the north.