Hurricane Luis

Hurricane Luis was a long-lived and powerful tropical cyclone that severely affected the Leeward Islands during the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season. The system formed from a tropical wave, south of Cape Verde islands west of Africa, on August 28, and attained tropical storm status on August 29. The storm reached hurricane status on August 31 and later developed into a 140 mph (230 km/h) Category 4 hurricane. Luis affected the Leeward Islands at this strength from September 4 to September 6. By the time Luis made landfall on Newfoundland, it had weakened down to a Category 1 hurricane and then became extratropical on September 11.

Luis caused extensive damage to Antigua, St. Barthelemy, the island of St. Martin and Anguilla as it affected Bermuda. The storm accounted for 19 confirmed deaths, left nearly 20,000 homeless (mostly in Anguilla, Barbuda, and St. Martin), and affected more than 70,000 people. Total damage was estimated at $3.3 billion (1995 USD) across the affected areas.

Earlier Category 4 storms that impacted the Leeward Islands in the 20th century include Hurricane Dog in 1950, Hurricane David in 1979, and Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Luis was the second of three tropical cyclones to affect Guadeloupe in a short period; Hurricane Iris had hit a week before, and Hurricane Marilyn only 10 days after.