Isotope ratios of rain and vapor samples collected at the surface from four tropical cyclones during the active 1995 Atlantic hurricane season were determined. A two-dimensional bulk microphysics isotope model was applied to steady symmetric tropical cyclones to explain the observed low mean values and inward decrease of isotope ratios of the rain and vapor. The low mean value is caused by the tropical cyclone's relatively large size, longevity, and deep clouds. The inward decrease is due to diffusive isotope exchange between falling rain and converging vapor in the atmospheric boundary layer. Dean, a minimal tropical storm, produced relatively high isotope ratios because of its small size and youth. Rains from the extreme outer edge of Felix, a category 3 hurricane, exhibited high isotope ratios similar to normal summer rain. Isotope ratios of rains and vapors from Hurricane Luis in Puerto Rico decreased as the storm approached. Isotope ratios of rain exhibited an abrupt jump from low values in the eastern half of Puerto Rico to high values farther west which is linked to the storm's rainbands. Isotope ratios of Hurricane Opal's rains reflected the storm's asymmetric structure, with lowest values west of the point of landfall. Record low isotope ratios from a squall line that struck eastern Texas two days before landfall are linked to low-level outflow from Opal and demonstrate that hurricanes can vent enormous quantities of vapor to the surroundings. ¿ 1998 American Geophysical Union