A significant portion of tropical cyclones in the north Atlantic reach the northern latitudes, affecting New England, eastern Canada, and their adjacent offshore waters. While many of these systems are in the decaying stage, they still possess an extraordinary amount of energy. In Canada, we refer to these storms in transition as post tropical, and they pose a unique prediction problem with a surprising threat.
In 1995, Hurricane Luis was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane before entering Canadian offshore waters. During its passage over the Scotian Slope (the edge of continental shelf), Luis was already undergoing transition from a tropical cyclone to a mid-latitude cyclone. However, only hours before making landfall on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, the luxury liner QEII felt the brunt of Luis and reported maximum winds of 130 knots. Extraordinarily high waves of 28 to 31 metres were encountered both by a NOMAD weather buoy and the QEII luxury liner. A post-diagnosis revealed that a classic "trapped fetch" with the storm gave rise to a significant wave field of 17 metres, and maximum waves in excess of 30 metres.
This paper will illustrate the tracks of Luis and the QEII and discuss the reports from the Canadian buoy network as well as the QEII. A discussion is also included on the classic "trapped fetch" phenomenon associated with Luis and similar storms such as Hurricane Felix 1995.