Hurricane Lili (1996)

Hurricane Lili (1996)

Hurricane Lili was a relatively long-lived hurricane during the very active 1996 Atlantic hurricane season. Lili formed on October 14 from a tropical wave, which emerged from the coast of west Africa on October 4. The tropical wave which developed into Lili was slow to form due to unfavorable wind shear in the Atlantic and eastern Caribbean Sea. Even after development occurred on October 14, further strengthening of Lili was gradual, having not attained tropical storm status until October 16 and hurricane status on October 17. After making landfall on Cuba, Hurricane Lili accelerated northeastward, briefly peaking as a category 3 hurricane near the Bahamas. For almost an entire week, Hurricane Lili oscillated in intensity while fluctuating several times in forward speed. Over two weeks had passed before Lili finally transitioned into an extratropical storm north of the Azores on October 29.

Hurricane Lili caused considerable damage across Central America, Cuba, and the Bahamas, and United Kingdom. Damage from Hurricane Lili totaled at $660 million (1996 USD, $978 million 2012 USD), with $150,000 (1996 USD, $222 thousand 2012 USD) in the United States, $362 million (1996 USD, $536 million 2012 USD) in Cuba, and £150 million (approximately $300 million 1996 USD, $445 million 2012 USD) damage in the United Kingdom.