The Weather Network

Hurricane Lenny was a 'backwards' storm, hit Puerto Rico from the 'wrong' way

Randi MannDigital Reporter
Published on Nov. 16, 2020, 10:37 AM
Updated on Nov. 16, 2022, 4:30 AM

Hurricane Lenny is the first hurricane on record to approach Puerto Rico from the west, and the Caribbean country was not prepared.

On Nov. 16, 1999, Puerto Rico got slammed by the second-strongest November Atlantic hurricane on record, Hurricane Lenny.

Lenny was the twelfth tropical storm, eighth hurricane, and fifth Category 4 hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season.

Lenny also goes down in history for the first hurricane recorded to impact Puerto Rico from the west. That's where the hurricane received the nickname of “Wrong Way Lenny”.

Hurricane Lenny

Photo courtesy NOAA

Because Lenny travelled from the unprecedented west to east, Puerto Rico was not prepared. The hurricane caused deaths, extreme crop damage, and millions in damages.

The name "Lenny" was retired from the hurricane naming rotation. To find out more about this destructive hurricane listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History".

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