Hurricane Erin was the first hurricane to strike the contiguous United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The fifth tropical cyclone, fifth named storm, and second hurricane of the unusually active 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, Erin developed from a tropical wave near the southeastern Bahamas on July 31. Moving northwestward, the cyclone intensified into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale near Rum Cay about 24 hours later. After a brief jog to the north-northwest on August 1, Erin began moving to the west-northwest. The cyclone then moved over the northwestern Bahamas, including the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama. Early on August 2, Erin made landfall near Vero Beach, Florida, with winds of . The hurricane weakened while crossing the Florida peninsula and fell to tropical storm intensity before emerging into the Gulf of Mexico later that day.
Early on August 3, Erin re-intensified into a Category 1 hurricane. Strengthening further, the cyclone very briefly strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane, peaking with maximum sustained winds of as the eyewall moved ashore at Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Erin then weakened slightly to a Category 1 hurricane while brushing the coast of the Florida Panhandle, before making landfall at Pensacola Beach later on August 3 with winds . After moving inland, the system quickly weakened to a tropical storm over Mississippi early on August 4 and then to a tropical depression several hours later. Erin proceeded to move northeastward and then eastward across the interior of the Eastern United States, prior to merging with a frontal system in West Virginia on August 6.
The outer bands of Erin caused seven deaths in Jamaica, with five due to a plane crash and the other two after lightning struck two teenage boys. Much of the Bahamas experienced impact from the storm, including all islands between Mayaguana and Grand Bahama. However, damage was generally minor, totaling about $400,000 (1995 USD). In Florida, observation stations recorded sustained winds up to at the Sebastian Inlet and gusts up to at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. Over 1 million people throughout Florida lost electricity during the storm. More than 5,000 homes and buildings suffered some degree of damage, with most in Brevard County and the western Florida Panhandle. Nine deaths occurred in Florida, with six by drowning and three by indirect causes. In Alabama, the storm damaged more than 100 homes throughout the state, as well as 17 schools and 50 to 75 percent of the pecan crops in Baldwin County alone. Several other states reported minor flooding and wind damage. Throughout the United States, Erin caused around $700 million in damage, with much of that incurred in Florida.
Meteorological history
A tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa on July 22. The system, accompanied by two distinct low-level circulation centers and a large area of convection, moved westward or west-northwestward throughout much of its duration due to the influence of the Bermuda high-pressure area and a second high-pressure area over the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Both circulations generated deep convection by July 27 while situated a few hundred miles northeast of the Leeward Islands. Near midday on July 30, T-number estimates reached 2.5, indicative of tropical storm strength. As a result of the system's organization and its proximity to the Bahamas and Florida, reconnaissance aircraft flights flew into the system between July 28 and July 30, but did not locate a closed circulation. Southwesterly vertical wind shear generated by an upper-level low-pressure area initially prevented further tropical cyclogenesis. A special overnight flight into the system located a closed circulation. As a result, Tropical Storm Erin developed just west of the Turks and Caicos Islands around 00:00 UTC on July 31.
Erin continued to develop slowly, persistently hindered by wind shear. In their first advisory on the storm, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicted very slow strengthening due to the center of circulation being located outside of the deep convection. The storm steadily intensified while moving slowly west-northwestward and became a Category 1 hurricane near Rum Cay around 00:00 UTC on August 1, after a reconnaissance aircraft flight observed flight-level winds of and satellite imagery noted a more well-defined system and hints of an eye developing. Thereafter, Erin accelerated somewhat from a forward speed of and then briefly jogged northwestward due to an upper-level low pressure area near Florida. On August 1, the hurricane passed over or very close to several islands in the Bahamas, including Cat Island, Eleuthera, the Abaco Islands, and Grand Bahama. Around 06:15 UTC on August 2, Erin made landfall near Vero Beach, Florida, with winds of , based on a similar wind speed observed at the Florida Institute of Technology anemometer at the Sebastian Inlet. The cyclone became the first hurricane to strike the United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Although the storm remained well-organized while crossing the Florida peninsula – except for losing its eye feature – it quickly weakened to a tropical storm by about six hours later, with winds falling to .
After emerging into the eastern Gulf of Mexico later on August 2, Erin quickly re-intensified into a Category 1 by 00:00 UTC on August 3 while curving back to the northwest. A portion of the eyewall moved ashore at Fort Walton Beach, Florida, around 13:30 UTC on August 3. At the time, Doppler wind data from the local National Weather Service office noted wind speeds in excess of at above ground, which translates to approximately sustained winds on the ground. As a result, Erin was upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane in post-analysis and peaked with maximum sustained winds of and a minimum barometric pressure of . The storm remained near the coast and weakened slightly before making landfall in Pensacola Beach, Florida, around 16:00 UTC on August 3 with winds of . With the landfall, Erin became the first hurricane to strike the Pensacola area since a storm in 1926. Erin initially weakened quickly after moving inland, falling to tropical storm intensity over southern Mississippi around 00:00 UTC on the following day, before deteriorating to a tropical depression over central Mississippi roughly 12 hours later. The cyclone then turned northward close to the Mississippi River along the Arkansas–Tennessee state line early on August 5, before curving northeastward shortly thereafter and then eastward over southern Indiana and Ohio. The storm merged with a frontal system over West Virginia around 12:00 UTC on August 6.
Preparations Cuba and the Bahamas In Cuba, emergency teams in Ciego de Ávila Province went on alert on August 1. Civil defense officials also began mitigating for potential impacts.
The Government of the Bahamas issued several tropical cyclone warnings and watches for the archipelago. Beginning at 03:30 UTC on July 31, a tropical storm warning went into effect for the central and southeastern Bahamas and a tropical storm watch for the northwestern Bahamas, before the government upgraded the watch to a warning at 09:00 UTC. The tropical storm warning was then increased to a hurricane warning for the entire country at 15:00 UTC. The Bahamian government gradually canceled the warning for sections of the nation as Erin moved toward Florida, with the no portion of the warning remaining after 01:00 UTC on August 2. The government of the Bahamas also assisted with evacuating coastal residents and opening shelters staffed by the Red Cross and government agencies. On July 31, the Freeport Airport closed.
Florida In Florida, watches and warnings issued in anticipation began at 03:30 UTC on July 31, with a tropical storm watch from the Sebastian Inlet southward on the east coast and from Venice southward on the west coast, including Florida Bay and all of the Florida Keys. Eleven and a half hours later, the NHC upgraded the east coast, Florida Bay, and Florida Keys portion of the watch to a hurricane warning, while raising the existing tropical storm watch from Venice to Everglades City to a hurricane watch and also placing Lake Okeechobee under a hurricane watch. The NHC shifted warnings northward as Erin appeared to be a more imminent threat to the east coast of Central Florida, rather than the Gold Coast or Florida Keys. At 15:00 UTC on August 1, the hurricane warning stretched from New Smyrna Beach southward to the Florida Keys. Also on August 1, the NHC posted additional watches and warnings along the west coast and Florida Panhandle. After the storm moved inland over Central Florida on the following day, the NHC discontinued watches and warnings on the east coast, but issued a hurricane warning from the Suwannee River westward at 19:00 UTC. The NHC removed this warning and all others on August 3 after Erin made landfall in the Florida Panhandle.
Florida governor Lawton Chiles declared a state of emergency on July 31 for Central and South Florida, allowing for the activation of the Florida National Guard and for county officials to issue evacuation orders. That same day, the NHC website experienced a significant spike in traffic, with approximately 100,000 views on the home page between noon and midnight. Computer servers became unable to handle the additional web traffic and data phone lines became tied up, causing the NHC to shut down the website on August 1. Mandatory evacuations were initially posted for 800,000 people in Florida in preparation. As the storm shifted farther north, the evacuation order was reduced to roughly 400,000 people. Many banks, universities, and shopping malls across Florida closed their doors. State officials suspended tolls on Florida's Turnpike, while local officials temporarily removed tolls from Central Florida toll roads. A high demand for bottled water resulted in Publix producing one truckload of water bottles, equivalent to about of water, roughly every 90 minutes at their facility in Lakeland. As Erin approached Central Florida, approximately 14,000 people stayed overnight at the 200 shelters opened throughout the state.
Many people on the east coast were wary of Erin due to recollections of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Andrew just three years earlier. Officials in the Florida Keys ordered the evacuation of residents living in mobile homes, with the Red Cross opening 17 shelters that could collectively house 15,285 people. Additionally, tens of thousands of vacationers left the Florida Keys. Officials in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties combined ordered the evacuation of close to 650,000 people. St. Lucie County officials issued a mandatory evacuation for coastal residents, an order followed by around 30,000 people. Around 600 people stayed at a shelter in the county. In Brevard County, approximately 100,000 people living on barrier islands received orders to evacuate. NASA rolled back Space Shuttle Endeavour from the launchpad to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center due to Erin. A flood watch and high wind watch were issued for all of eastern Central Florida. Tornado watches and warnings were also issued for eastern Central Florida. Central Florida theme parks including Cypress Gardens and Splendid China closed for one day. Although other attractions such as Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios did not close for the storm, they opened a few hours later than normal on August 2.