Hurricane Jose (1999)

Hurricane Jose (1999)

Hurricane Jose caused moderate damage in the Lesser Antilles in October 1999. The fourteenth tropical cyclone, tenth named storm, and eighth hurricane of the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season, Jose developed from a tropical wave several hundred miles east of the Windward Islands on October 17. The depression quickly strengthened and by October 18, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Jose. The storm tracked northwestward and while approaching the Leeward Islands, Jose became a hurricane on the following day. By midday on October 20, Jose briefly peaked as a 100 mph (155 km/h) Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. However, wind shear quickly weakened the storm back to a Category 1 hurricane before it made landfall in Antigua. Further deterioration occurred and Jose had been reduced to a tropical storm before its second landfall in Tortola on October 21. While located north of Puerto Rico on October 22, the storm turned northward, shortly before curving north-northeastward. Wind shear briefly decreased, allowing Jose to re-intensify into a hurricane while pass east of Bermuda on October 24. However, on the following day, wind shear increased again, while sea surface temperatures were decreasing, causing Jose to weaken and quickly transition into an extratropical cyclone.

The storm brought heavy rainfall to the Lesser Antilles, with some areas experiencing more than 18 inches (460 mm) of precipitation. A combination of hurricane force winds and flooding in Antigua and Barbuda destroyed at least 500 homes, left 90% of homes without electricity, and caused 12 injuries and one fatality.