Hurricane Iris (1995)
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Hurricane Iris was the first of three tropical cyclones to affect the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...
in a three-week period, preceding the more destructive hurricanes
Luis Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
and Marilyn. The ninth
named storm Tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones are named by various warning centers to simplify communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings. The names are intended to reduce confusion in the ...
and fifth hurricane of the
1995 Atlantic hurricane season The 1995 Atlantic hurricane season was an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season and is considered to be the start of an ongoing era of high-activity tropical cyclone formation. The season produced twenty-one tropical cyclones, nineteen na ...
, Iris developed from a
tropical wave A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...
to the east of the Lesser Antilles on August 22 and attained hurricane status within 30 hours. The hurricane weakened to a tropical storm before crossing the islands of the eastern Caribbean from August 26 through August 28. During that time, Iris became one of four active tropical storms in the Atlantic basin. Earlier it had interacted with Hurricane Humberto, and beginning on August 30, Iris interacted with Tropical Storm Karen. Iris re-intensified into a hurricane and attained peak sustained winds of while moving slowly across the central Atlantic. The hurricane accelerated to the north and absorbed a dissipating Karen on September 3. Iris weakened to a tropical storm and became
extratropical Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...
on September 4, though its remnants re-attained hurricane-force winds, before affecting western Europe on September 7. The storm dissipated soon afterward. As a tropical storm, Iris produced heavy rainfall across much of the
Leeward Islands french: ÃŽles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...
. In the southern Lesser Antilles, high waves caused
coastal flooding Coastal flooding normally occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged by seawater. The range of a coastal flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coastal land ...
in
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
, while in
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
further north, significant amounts of precipitation led to flooding and landslides. The threat from the hurricane halted airplane evacuations on
Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
, which was being threatened by the eruption of the
Soufrière Hills The Soufrière Hills are an active, complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995 and has continued to ...
volcano. There were five deaths in association with Iris—four in Martinique, and one in
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...
.


Meteorological history

A
tropical wave A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...
exited western Africa on August 16, with a circulation emerging just south of
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ðž ...
. It was the first of four consecutive waves that would later develop into tropical cyclones. As the system moved westward, thunderstorms diminished on August 18, before they gradually redeveloped. At around 1200  UTC, the
National Hurricane Center The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...
(NHC) classified the system as Tropical Depression Ten about east of the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...
. Around that time, the depression had a well-organized area of convection and evident circulation, as confirmed by a nearby ship. Within six hours of developing, the depression had intensified into a tropical storm. Initially,
tropical cyclone forecast model A tropical cyclone forecast model is a computer program that uses meteorological data to forecast aspects of the future state of tropical cyclones. There are three types of models: statistical, dynamical, or combined statistical-dynamic. Dyna ...
s had difficulty predicting the future of the storm, due to uncertain
interaction Interaction is action that occurs between two or more objects, with broad use in philosophy and the sciences. It may refer to: Science * Interaction hypothesis, a theory of second language acquisition * Interaction (statistics) * Interactions o ...
between it and Tropical Storm Humberto to its northeast. In real-time, the NHC upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Iris at 1500 UTC on August 23, or about 21 hours later than assessed in post-analysis. The intensity was based on satellite intensity estimates. At that time, the storm had a ragged
central dense overcast The central dense overcast, or CDO, of a tropical cyclone or strong subtropical cyclone is the large central area of thunderstorms surrounding its circulation center, caused by the formation of its eyewall. It can be round, angular, oval, or irr ...
—a uniformly circular area of thunderstorms—as well as
rainbands A rainband is a cloud and precipitation structure associated with an area of rainfall which is significantly elongated. Rainbands can be stratiform or convective, and are generated by differences in temperature. When noted on weather radar ima ...
to the north and south. A hurricane hunters flight late on August 23 indicated that Iris was significantly stronger, reporting 10–second sustained winds of at flight-level. Based on the reading, it is estimated Iris attained hurricane status around 1800 UTC that day, or about three hours after it was named. After Iris strengthened into a hurricane, it turned to the west-southwest due to interaction with Hurricane Humberto. An upper-level low north of
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
increased
wind shear Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal ...
over the hurricane, which dislocated the center from the deep convection. As a result, Iris weakened to tropical storm status on August 24 after being a hurricane for about 24 hours. As the storm approached the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...
, the thunderstorms decreased markedly and the cloud pattern became disorganized. As late as August 25, there was uncertainty whether Iris would continue toward the islands or turn to the north. A new circulation became the dominant center as the storm continued westward, and Iris brushed
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...
early on August 26. An approaching
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...
turned the storm to the northwest, bringing it near most of the Lesser Antilles. Early on August 27, Iris weakened to an intensity of , although it immediately began restrengthening. Later that day, the center made
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
on
Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
,
Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territo ...
, and
Barbuda Barbuda (), is an island located in the eastern Caribbean forming part of the sovereign state of Antigua and Barbuda. It is located north of the island of Antigua and is part of the Leeward Islands of the West Indies. The island is a popular ...
with winds of over . By that time, an eye began reforming, and the structure became better organized as wind shear decreased. On August 28, Iris moved away from the Lesser Antilles, and at 1800 UTC re-attained hurricane status as it began a steady motion to the north-northwest. By that time, there was uncertainty in its future track due to the possible interactions among Iris, Humberto to the northeast, Tropical Storm Karen to the southeast, and the remnants of Tropical Storm Jerry to the west. In addition, after Tropical Storm Luis formed on August 27, there were four active tropical cyclones in the Atlantic. A few days later, there were three simultaneous hurricanes, which is a rare event, when Luis attained hurricane status. On August 30, Iris turned to the northeast while it began interacting directly with Tropical Storm Karen. Over the next few days, the smaller tropical storm moved around the larger circulation of Iris, potentially causing the hurricane to move erratically. Iris' intensity did not change significantly during that time, and it maintained strong
outflow Outflow may refer to: *Capital outflow, the capital leaving a particular economy *Bipolar outflow, in astronomy, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star *Outflow (hydrology), the discharge of a lake or other reservoir system * Outflow ...
but a weak eyewall. An eastward-moving trough bypassed the storm to the north, causing the motion to become nearly stationary. A building
ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
to the northeast caused Iris to turn to a northwest drift on September 1. By that time, the eye had become distinct and well-organized, and at 0600 UTC that day, Iris attained peak winds of to the southeast of Bermuda. After reaching peak intensity, the hurricane began weakening due to increasing shear and cooler waters. An approaching trough turned Iris to the north, and early on September 3, the hurricane passed about east of Bermuda. That day, Iris absorbed the dissipating Tropical Depression Karen. It accelerated to the northeast as it lost tropical characteristics, and after weakening to a tropical storm, Iris transitioned into an
extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...
on September 4 to the southeast of
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. The remnants of Iris turned to the east, moving in tandem with an extratropical storm to its north. On September 5, the
barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...
dropped by more than , which qualified as being classified as a meteorological
bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
. The next day, the winds strengthened to hurricane-status, and the storm maintained a track to the east due to a ridge weakening to the north. The pressure reached a minimum of early on September 7, lower than when Iris was tropical. That day, the storm weakened as it entered the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
, and the extratropical remnants continued across western Europe.


Preparations and impact

Before Iris moved through the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...
, tropical storm watches, and later warnings, were issued from
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
through the
British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...
. The storm produced tropical storm force winds across the eastern Caribbean, although the primary meteorological event occurred from heavy rainfall. Flooding prompted evacuations in communities in Saint Lucia, Dominica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Iris was the first of three storms in a three-week period to affect the region, preceding the more destructive hurricanes
Luis Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
and Marilyn. In western
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
, a feeder produced winds of along the
Gulf of Paria The Gulf of Paria ( ; es, Golfo de Paria) is a shallow (180 m at its deepest) semi-enclosed inland sea located between the island of Trinidad (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) and the east coast of Venezuela. It separates the two countries ...
. The winds increased waves that caused coastal flooding and some damage to boats. On
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
, Iris produced gusts of , with torrential rainfall occurring on the island. A station in
Les Trois-Îlets Les Trois-Îlets (; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Twazilé) is a town and commune in the French overseas department and region of Martinique. It was the birthplace of Joséphine (1763–1814), who married Napoleon Bonaparte and became Empress ...
recorded in a 30-minute period, and the highest total on the island was at Ducos. The rains caused mudslides that killed four people, including two after a house was swept off a cliff in
Le Vauclin Le Vauclin (; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Voklen) is a commune and town in the French overseas department and region, and island of Martinique. Geography Located in the southeast of the island, its neighboring towns are Le François, Saint-E ...
. Flooding was reported across coastal areas of Martinique, and heavy damage was reported in the southern city of
Le Vauclin Le Vauclin (; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Voklen) is a commune and town in the French overseas department and region, and island of Martinique. Geography Located in the southeast of the island, its neighboring towns are Le François, Saint-E ...
. To the north of Martinique, winds reached on Dominica. While the storm passed
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...
, it produced sustained winds of , with gusts to on
La Désirade La Désirade is an island in the French West Indies, in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. It forms part of Guadeloupe, an overseas region of France. History Archaeological evidence has been discovered that suggests that an Amerindian popu ...
. There was one death on the island after a person drowned in a storm-flooded river. To the northwest, the hurricane moved over
Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
, causing additional problems on the island just weeks after the
Soufrière Hills The Soufrière Hills are an active, complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995 and has continued to ...
volcano began erupting. Officials on the island closed the primary airport due to the storm, which prevented residents from evacuating from the island from the volcano threat. Further north, Iris dropped of rain on
Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
, which destroyed banana trees and caused flooding in low-lying areas. Due to uncertainties in Iris' track, the government of
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...
issued a tropical storm watch on September 1. This was downgraded on September 3 after the hurricane bypassed the island. Later, after Iris became extratropical, the storm produced winds of at
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
on the Atlantic coast of France.


See also

* Other storms named Iris *
Timeline of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season The 1995 Atlantic hurricane season was an event in the annual tropical cyclone season in the north Atlantic Ocean. This Atlantic hurricane season saw a near-record number of named tropical storms. This extremely active season followed four consec ...


References

{{1995 Atlantic hurricane season buttons
Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...
Iris 1995 Iris 1995 Iris 1995 Iris 1995 Iris 1995 Iris 1995 Iris 1995 Iris (1995) Iris 1995 1995 in the Caribbean