On This Day in 2017: Hurricane Irma Makes Landfall in Florida
On this day in 2017, Major Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida. It was historic due to its intensity, size and how much damage it caused.
Like most infamous hurricanes that occur in the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Irma originated from a low pressure system moving off the coast of Africa on August 27, 2017. These low pressure systems occasionally grow into powerful hurricanes that impact the U.S., as they have plenty of time to develop in the warm ocean temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean as they push west. It was classified as a tropical depression on August 30th, and then it strengthened into a tropical storm west of the Cape Verde Islands just six hours later.
Rapid intensification continued for about 30 hours, making Irma a Category 2 hurricane on the morning of August 31 and then a major Category 3 hurricane later that day. Within a 48-hour period, the storm’s intensity had increased by 65 mph, with the maximum sustained winds reaching 115 mph. This type of rapid strengthening is uncommon in the eastern Atlantic, and the storm was moving into an even more favorable environment for hurricanes in the western and central Atlantic.
With very warm waters and low wind shear, or changes in wind speed or direction over a given area, Irma went through another period of rapid intensification on September 4th and 5th as it approached the Leeward Islands. By September 5th, it had reached Category 5 status, with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. This made Irma the strongest hurricane ever observed in the open Atlantic, which Hurricane Dorian then tied with in 2019. Irma is also only one of six hurricanes with measured winds of 185 mph or more in the entire Atlantic basin.
On September 6th, Irma maintained its Category 5 status as it passed through the northeast Leeward Island, Virgin Islands and just to the north of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. Irma was a Category 5 hurricane for 3 days, which is very rare. The storm weakened slightly to a Category 4 hurricane on September 8th, but was still packing maximum sustained winds of 155 mph as it slid through the south Bahamas. However, it intensified back to a Category 5 later that day, with sustained winds topping out at 160 mph. Remaining a major Category 5 storm, Irma's eye would move just north of Cuba on September 9th. This interaction with land ultimately caused Irma to weaken a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale with winds of 125 mph as it prepared to take aim at the Southeast U.S. coast.
Not willing to surrender yet, tough Irma made one final attempt to strengthen as it entered the open water between Cuba and the Florida Straits. It briefly reached Category 4 intensity as it pushed over the Florida Straits, but ultimately made landfall near Marco Island, Fla., in the afternoon on September 10th as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph. It quickly weakened as it moved to the north-northwest, making it a Category 1 hurricane just east of Tampa, Fla., late on September 10th, a tropical storm by early on September 11th in Georgia and then a remnant low late on the 11th in Alabama.
As if Irma’s strength wasn’t enough, its size was also very problematic. When the storm hit Florida, tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 400 miles from the center, and hurricane-force winds extended up to 80 miles. So, the center of Irma made landfall in southwestern Florida, but hurricane-force winds were reported along much of the east coast from Jacksonville to Miami. Storm surge also occurred well away from the storm center.
The highest rainfall amounts were recorded to the east of Irma’s path, with a peak amount of 21.66 inches in Fort Pierce, Fla. Heavy rain and storm surge caused rivers and creeks to overflow and cause significant flooding, especially along the St. Johns River near Jacksonville, Fla. A total of eight tornadoes touched down.
In Florida alone, it was estimated that Irma caused $52.1 billion in damage, making it the costliest hurricane in Florida history, surpassing Hurricane Andrew and making it the fifth costliest Atlantic hurricane in U.S. history. More than 7.7 million homes and businesses in Florida were left without electricity, approximately 73% of the state. Many citrus trees in the Florida Heartlands were damaged. Throughout Florida, there were at least 84 storm-related deaths, with Broward County in southeastern Florida having the highest number of fatalities.
In total, Hurricane Irma caused $77.2 billion in damage and 134 deaths. It is the second-costliest Caribbean hurricane on record, after Maria. It was also the costliest hurricane in Cuban history, with an estimated $13.2 billion in damage.
Sources: NOAA, Wikipedia
-----------
Story Image: GOES-16 captured this geocolor image of Hurricane Irma passing the eastern end of Cuba at about 8:00 am (eastern) on September 8, 2017 (NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS))