The name Erika was used for five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Tropical Storm Erika (1991), lost tropical characteristics before passing over the Azores, no damage or casualties reported.
- Hurricane Erika (1997), strong Category 3 hurricane that came near Lesser Antilles but turned away, drowning two near Puerto Rico.
- Hurricane Erika (2003), weak Category 1 hurricane that made landfall near the Texas-Tamaulipas border, causing two fatalities.
- Tropical Storm Erika (2009), made landfall in Guadeloupe, and dissipated southeast of Puerto Rico the following day.
- Tropical Storm Erika (2015), was the deadliest natural disaster in the island of Dominica and in Puerto Rico in decades, causing US$500 million in damage and 31 fatalities.
The Azores, officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores, is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal. It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean about 1,360 km (850 mi) west of continental Portugal, about 1,643 km (1,021 mi) west of Lisbon, in continental Portugal, about 1,507 km (936 mi) northwest of Morocco, and about 1,925 km (1,196 mi) southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Hurricane Erika was the strongest and longest-lasting tropical cyclone in the 1997 Atlantic hurricane season. It developed from a tropical wave on September 3 and moved west-northwestward across the tropical Atlantic Ocean, steadily intensifying until it attained hurricane status on September 4, becoming the fifth named storm and third hurricane of the season. Erika passed a short distance to the north of the Lesser Antilles, and later turned to the north in response to an approaching trough. The hurricane quickly strengthened to become the only major hurricane of the season, reaching maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) on September 8; after maintaining its peak strength for 24 hours, Erika began to weaken as it passed over cooler waters. It turned to the east, weakened to a tropical storm, and became extratropical after passing near the Azores archipelago.
Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida.
Following the storm in 2015, the name Erika was retired, and will be replaced with Elsa for the 2021 season. [1]
