it is possible that the forward motion of the storm became slightly erratic after a fujiwhara interaction began with tropical storm karen. by september 1, iris peaked as a 110 mph (175 km/h) category 2 hurricane. after curving north-northeastward, iris began to weaken after encountering increasing wind shear and decreasing sea surface temperatures. nonetheless, it was still able to absorb tropical depression karen on september 3. by early on the following day, iris weakened to a tropical storm, six hours before becoming extratropical, while centered southeast of newfoundland. while crossing through the leeward islands, iris produced heavy rainfall. high waves in trinidad caused coastal flooding and damage to boats. in martinique, significant amounts of precipitation led to flooding and landslides. four fatalities were reported on that island, two of which occurred after mudslides push a house off a cliff. flooding was also reported in coastal areas, resulting in heavy damage in le vauclin. on guadeloupe, the only island to record tropical storm force winds, one fatality occurred after a person drowned in a flooded river. rainfall in antigua damaged banana trees and caused flooding in low-lying areas.