Hurricane Ian (2022)

Hurricane Ian was a devastating tropical cyclone which was the third costliest weather disaster on record worldwide. It was also the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, and the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Michael in 2018. Ian caused widespread damage across western Cuba, Florida, and the Carolinas. Ian was the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, and was the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic since Lorenzo in 2019.

Ian originated from a tropical wave that moved off the coast of West Africa and across the central tropical Atlantic towards the Windward Islands. The wave moved into the Caribbean Sea on September 21 bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to Trinidad and Tobago, the ABC islands, and the northern coast of South America. On the morning of September 23, the wave had enough organization to be designated as a tropical depression, after which it strengthened into Tropical Storm Ian early the next day while it was southeast of Jamaica. As Ian rapidly intensified into a Category 3 hurricane, it made landfall in western Cuba. Heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding across the area resulting in a nationwide power outage. Ian lost a minimal amount of strength while over land and soon re-strengthened while over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. It peaked as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of early on September 28, while progressing towards the west coast of Florida, and made landfall just below peak intensity in Southwest Florida on Cayo Costa Island. In doing so, Ian tied with several other storms to become the 5th-strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the contiguous U.S. After moving inland, Ian quickly weakened to a tropical storm before moving back offshore into the Atlantic. There it re-strengthened to become a hurricane once again before making its final landfall in South Carolina on September 30. Ian became an extratropical cyclone shortly after landfall and fully dissipated by early the next day.

Hurricane Ian caused 161 fatalities: 5 in Cuba, 150 in Florida, 5 in North Carolina, and 1 in Virginia. Ian caused catastrophic damage with losses estimated to be around $112 billion, making it the costliest hurricane in Florida's history, surpassing Irma of 2017, as well as the third-costliest in U.S. history, behind only Katrina of 2005 and Harvey of 2017. Much of the damage was from flooding brought about by a storm surge of . The cities of Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Naples were particularly hard hit, leaving millions without power in the storm's wake and numerous inhabitants forced to take refuge on their roofs. Sanibel Island, Fort Myers Beach, and Pine Island bore the brunt of Ian's powerful winds and its accompanying storm surge at landfall, which leveled thousands of standing structures in the region and collapsed the Sanibel Causeway and the Pine Island Causeway to Pine Island, entrapping those left on the islands for several days.

Meteorological history

Ian originated from a tropical wave producing a large amount of showers and thunderstorms moving off the west coast of Africa on September 14–15. The wave subsequently moved westward, passing south of the Cape Verde Islands with occasional bursts of convection during the ensuing six days. On September 22, as the disturbance tracked west-northwestward it showed signs of increasing organization. Strong wind shear with winds generated by the upper-level outflow from Hurricane Fiona inhibited development into a tropical depression. A well-defined circulation was still able to form within the disturbance by 06:00 September 23; its convection then increased and became persistent overnight into the next day. As a result, it was designated Tropical Depression Nine at that time.

By 00:00 UTC on September 24, the depression's wind speed had increased to , at which time it became Tropical Storm ''Ian''. Moderate-to-strong vertical wind shear hindered development of Ian until late the following day; it began rapidly intensifying at 18:00 UTC September 25. Ian became a hurricane 12 hours later and a major hurricane after another 24 hours. At approximately 08:30 UTC on September 27, Ian made landfall on western Cuba as a high-end Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) and a pressure of , becoming the strongest tropical cyclone to impact Pinar del Río Province since Hurricane Gustav in 2008. Ian weakened to a low-end major hurricane with winds as it emerged off the coast of Cuba and into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico around 14:00 UTC. Ian restrengthened slightly once offshore, then initiated an eyewall replacement cycle causing its wind speed to remain steady at for about 12 hours. Its central pressure continued to fall to a minimum of before temporarily rising to by 02:00 UTC, when it moved over the Dry Tortugas with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h). Ian completed the eyewall replacement cycle shortly afterwards and began rapidly intensifying once more. By 12:00 UTC on September 28, Ian strengthened further to its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of and an estimated central pressure of as it neared Southwest Florida, despite outflow being restricted in its southwestern quadrant by moderate wind shear. Operationally, the NHC classified Ian as a high-end Category 4 hurricane with winds of , but during post-season reanalysis concluded a peak wind speed of based on stepped frequency microwave radiometer measurements of (these observations had been flagged as being unreliable operationally). At around this time, a NOAA weather drone measured wind gusts reaching up to . Ian maintained its intensity for several hours before weakening to a Category 4 hurricane as it approached the coast of Florida due to worsening environmental conditions. At 19:05 UTC, Ian made landfall on Cayo Costa with sustained winds of and an estimated central pressure of , becoming the first Category 4 hurricane to impact Southwest Florida since Charley in 2004, which made landfall at the same location. Ian then made a second landfall just south of Punta Gorda near Pirate Harbor at 20:35 UTC with winds.

Ian weakened to Category 3 strength by 00:00 UTC the next day. Continual land interaction resulted in the frictional displacement of the system, and that coupled with high vertical wind shear caused Ian to quickly degrade to a tropical storm by 12:00 UTC as it moved north-northeast off of the eastern Florida coastline. At 00:00 UTC, the system's low-level circulation had completely emerged off of the coast of Florida, and although the convection was slightly offset to the north, Ian reintensified to a Category 1 hurricane at that time. The system turned northward on the morning of September 30 and accelerated toward the South Carolina coast. It strengthened some during this time, as deep convection re-developed near the center and hybrid frontal features moved away. The system made its final landfall that afternoon near Georgetown, South Carolina, at 18:05 UTC, with sustained winds of . Ian became extratropical a few hours later over northeastern South Carolina, and fully dissipated over central North Carolina by 12:00 UTC on October 1.

Preparations

Caribbean

Jamaica

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica issued tropical storm watches for the island of Jamaica on September 23. Flood warnings and marine warnings were issued simultaneously.

Cayman Islands

The government of the Cayman Islands issued hurricane watches for its three islands, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, on September 23 at 21:00 UTC as Ian was projected to pass over the British Overseas Territory as a hurricane. The National Emergency Operations Centre had gone into full activation mode. Along with the emergency services, the Cayman Islands Regiment and Cayman Islands Coast Guard saw the full mobilization and deployment of their personnel. In addition, the Governor of the Cayman Islands, Martyn Roper, requested for the United Kingdom to further deploy additional military assets to the islands for Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief Operations. Subsequently, HMS Medway was deployed to the Cayman Islands. Helicopters from Royal Cayman Islands Police Service were also deployed to assist in the operation. At the time one of the helicopters was deployed to the Turks and Caicos Islands before the development of Ian to assist recovery efforts there after the passage of Hurricane Fiona. The Royal Navy also deployed its helicopter to assist. Schools, universities, and education centers closed on the evening of September 23. On September 24 at 18:00 UTC, the hurricane watch for Grand Cayman was upgraded to a hurricane warning, and the hurricane watch for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman was changed to a tropical storm watch. Flood warnings along with marine warnings were also issued for Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands Airports Authority continued operating the airports until the afternoon of September 25. Then the airports closed and the aircraft at the airports were evacuated.

Cuba

Authorities in Cuba issued evacuation orders for around 50,000 people in the Pinar del Rio province and set up around 55 shelters before the storm. State media stated that steps were being taken to protect food and crops in warehouses. Locals removed fishing boats in Havana

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