Hurricane Lili was the second costliest, deadliest, and strongest hurricane of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, only surpassed by Hurricane Isidore, which affected the same areas around a week before Lili. Lili was the twelfth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm developed from a tropical disturbance in the open Atlantic on September 21. It continued westward, affecting the Lesser Antilles as a tropical storm, then entered the Caribbean. As it moved west, the storm dissipated while being affected by wind shear south of Cuba, and regenerated when the vertical wind shear weakened. It turned to the northwest and strengthened up to category 2 strength on October 1. Lili made two landfalls in western Cuba later that day, and then entered the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane rapidly strengthened on October 2, reaching Category 4 strength that afternoon. It weakened rapidly thereafter, and hit Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane on October 3. It moved inland and dissipated on October 6.
Lili caused extensive damage through the Caribbean, particularly to crops and poorly built homes. Mudslides were common on the more mountainous islands, particularly Haiti and Jamaica. In the United States, the storm cut off the production of oil within the Gulf of Mexico, and caused severe damage in parts of Louisiana. Lili was also responsible for severe damage to the barrier islands and marshes in the southern portion of the state. Total damage amounted to $925 million (2002 USD), and the storm killed 15 people during its existence.
Meteorological history
A tropical wave moved off the west coast of Africa on September 16. A low level center of circulation developed from a tropical disturbance spawned by this tropical wave midway between the African coast and the Caribbean on September 20. The next day, the system gained sufficient organization to become a tropical depression. The depression moved westward in excess of , and reached tropical storm strength-becoming Tropical Storm Lili as it passed through the Windward Islands. The cyclone continued to intensify as it moved west through the Caribbean Sea, reaching an initial peak strength of on the morning of September 24. This was immediately followed by an abrupt weakening, and the storm's maximum sustained winds dropped to later that day. The sudden weakening was attributed to strong southerly vertical shear. The system degenerated into an open tropical wave the next morning, and remained in that state for nearly two days.
Lili regenerated near Jamaica on the evening of September 26 and gradually turned more to the west-northwest while strengthening. The system became a hurricane on September 30, just after passing through the Cayman Islands. The storm continued on its course while continuing to intensify, and made landfall twice the next day, on the Isle of Youth and near Pinar del Río as a Category 2 hurricane. Lili emerged over the Gulf of Mexico later that day, having lost little strength during its overland passage.
The system turned to the northwest and sped up, becoming a major hurricane on October 2 while south-southeast of New Orleans. This intensification continued, aided by warm sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and good outflow. The system reached its peak strength of category 4 intensity, with winds of , during that afternoon.
This strength was not maintained for long. The storm began to quickly weaken in the early morning hours of October 3, and this rapid weakening continued until the hurricane's final landfall near Intracoastal City, Louisiana, due to a combination of vertical wind shear, cool waters just offshore Louisiana, and slowly encroaching dry air within its southwest quadrant. By the time of landfall, maximum sustained winds had dropped to . The weakening was accompanied by a collapse of the inner eyewall before landfall. The system continued inland, curving to the north-northeast, and dissipated when absorbed by an extratropical low near the Arkansas/Tennessee border on October 6.
Preparations
Tropical storm watches were issued in parts of the Lesser Antilles on September 22. These were upgraded to warnings the next afternoon, and all advisories were dropped late on September 23 once the storm had passed. Over the next week, the islands of Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cuba, the Caymans, and the Yucatán Peninsula were all under advisories of some kind at different times. Hurricane and tropical storm watches were issued for the Gulf Coast on October 1, and were upgraded to warnings the next morning. They were discontinued after the storm moved past the following day.