Laura first moved over the Lesser Antilles and brushing Puerto Rico as a tropical storm. It made landfall in the resort city of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, killing four people in the Dominican Republic and 31 in Haiti. The storm then moved over the entire island of Cuba, forcing the evacuation of more than 260,000 people. Then, the outer rainbands of Laura moved over parts of the Florida Keys and Southern Florida. It then moved over the warm Gulf of Mexico, strengthening slowly at first, before undergoing rapid intensification by August 26. Later that day, Laura became a major hurricane, and soon reached a peak intensity of , making it a Category 4 hurricane.