Meteorological history of Hurricane Luis
The meteorological history of Hurricane Luis spanned sixteen days between August 27 to September 11, 1995. The storm originated from an area of low pressure associated with a tropical wave on August 26. The following day, the low became sufficiently organized to be classified as a tropical depression, while tracking general westward. By August 29, the depression intensified into a tropical storm and was given the name Luis by the National Hurricane Center. Luis attained hurricane status the following day as an eye began to develop. On September 1 the cyclone intensified into a major hurricane—a storm with winds of or higher—and further strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane later that day. Hurricane Luis maintained wind speeds of for nearly two days and developed a symmetrical structure with a well-defined wide eye. Early on September 3, winds within the eyewall reached . Luis weakened slightly maintained this intensity until September 5, shortly before passing through the Leeward Islands with winds. The hurricane maintained Category 4 status until September 7 as it tracked towards the northwest. Gradual weakening took place for several days and by September 9, the hurricane passed about west of Bermuda. The next day, Luis began to undergo an extratropical transition and the storm's forward motion rapidly increased. Early on September 11, Luis made landfall on the Avalon Peninsula as a strong Category 1 hurricane with winds of . The same day, a wave produced by Luis struck an ocean liner. This wave is the largest ever recorded, Several hours later, the storm completed its extratropical transition as it began to be absorbed into an approaching trough. The following day, the remnants of Luis were fully absorbed into the trough near the southern coast of Greenland. Formation and intensification On August 26, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) began monitoring a tropical wave between the western coast of Africa and the Cape Verde Islands. Later that day, a low-level circulation center formed beneath the wave and began strengthening. Convective activity associated with the low became increasingly organized, and at around 1200 UTC on August 27, the NHC classified the system as Tropical Depression Thirteen; at the time, it was located approximately south-southeast of Praia, Cape Verde. Operationally, the NHC did not begin to issue advisories on the depression until 2100 UTC on August 28. Tracking nearly due west in response to an anticyclone to the north and an area of moderate wind shear, the depression was forecast to slowly strengthen over the next several days. Early on August 29, satellite intensity estimates of maximum sustained winds within the depression reached , indicating that it had intensified into a tropical storm. At this time, the NHC assigned the name Luis to the system. Gradual strengthening took place throughout August 29 as Luis tracked towards the west-northwest. Increased wind shear displaced convection from the center of circulation, preventing further intensification. By August 30, strong outflow developed around Luis despite convection remaining displaced from the low pressure center. Once the shear began