On August 20, a tropical wave organized into a tropical depression. The next day, the depression, which was originally disorganized, strengthened into Tropical Storm Laura. Upon reaching tropical storm status, it became the earliest twelfth tropical storm in the Atlantic. The system then passed over the Leeward Islands, passing south of Puerto Rico. The system made landfall on the Dominican Republic, but the system had not lost any strength, despite the mountainous terrain. The system then made landfall in Cuba twice, before becoming a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico on August 24. The storm underwent rapid intensification, becoming a category 2 hurricane on August 25. Laura became a major hurricane (Category 3) 9 hours later. The storm then became a Category 4 six hours later. Its highest winds were 150 mph. The storm hit Louisiana around that time. After going over Louisiana, the system quickly weakened, and lost its life over Kentucky.