Hurricane Lenny was the second-strongest November Atlantic hurricane on record and the record-breaking fifth Category 4 hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed on November 13 in the western Caribbean Sea and maintained an unprecedented west-to-east track for its entire duration. It attained hurricane status south of Jamaica and passed south of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, attaining peak winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) about 21 mi (34 km) south of Saint Croix in the US Virgin Islands. It gradually weakened while moving through the Leeward Islands, dissipating on November 23 over the open Atlantic Ocean. Damage in the US territories totaled about $330 million, with widespread flooding and erosion in Saint Croix. Lenny killed two people in northern Colombia, three in Saint Martin and one in Antigua and Barbuda, where it also contaminated the local water supply. Significant storm damage occurred as far south as Grenada, where high surf isolated towns from the capital city. (Full article...)