On August 21, the Hurricane Hunters flew into the depression and observed gale-force winds; as a result, the NHC upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Laura about 230 mi (375 km) east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands.[6] This made Laura the earliest twelfth named Atlantic storm, beating the previous record of Hurricane Luis of 1995 by eight days.[7] While crossing the Leeward Islands, Laura was poorly-organized, with little thunderstorm activity near the center, poorly-defined rainbands to the south, and well-defined outflow.[8] The storm strengthened as it passed south of Puerto Rico, producing a large area of thunderstorms.[9] Early on August 23, Laura made landfall near San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, with 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) winds.[10] Later that day, Laura's center passed near Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic.