Hurricane Ian has continued to wreak havoc in many parts of Florida. Ian first formed over the Caribbean Sea on Friday, September 23. Ian is the ninth tropical season during 2022. Ian’s first landfall was in Cuba this past Tuesday. In Cuba, Ian knocked out the electricity grid and left the whole island of Cuba without electricity or power. Since then, Ian has brought major flooding to Cuba and the Florida Keys. More than 1.5 million people throughout Florida lost power due to the effects of Hurricane Ian. Hurricane Ian is coming shortly after Hurricane Fiona. Hurricane Fiona was a category 1 storm that first made landfall on September 18 in Puerto Rico. On average, there are about 10 storms that happen in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico every year. Of these 10, about 6 of them will be hurricanes yearly. The eye of a hurricane is actually very calm. There is a 20-40 mile radius that is a clear area.

     Hurricane Ian is the first hurricane in 101 years to majorly impact the Tampa Bay area. Ian is expected to become a category 5 hurricane eventually. Category 3 hurricanes have winds between 111-129 mph. A category 4 hurricane has winds anywhere from 130 mph to 156 mph. Category 5 hurricanes are hurricanes with winds greater than 157 mph. A category 4 hurricane can do severe damage to well-constructed homes, and it can snap most trees in telephone poles. A category 5 can do even more catastrophic damage than a category 4. Hurricane Ian was just shy of being a category 5 clocking in at 155 mph wind gusts. This is just 2 mph away from being a category 5 hurricane. Hurricane Ian would be only the 5th category 5 hurricane ever in the United States. As Ian continues to progress, it is expected that flooding rain is going to hit central Florida, southern Georgia, North Carolina, and the coast of South Carolina. Some of these areas are well beyond the path of Hurricane Ian.

     There has been, and will continue to be, numerous outcomes from Hurricane Ian. More than 2.5 million people in Florida had to be on evacuation orders before Hurricane Ian hit. Governor Ron Desantis of Florida, of Florida, said Hurricane Ian may go down as one of the top 5 storms in Florida history. Among the places hit so far, the worst have been the Tampa Bay area and around Fort Myers. In Fort Myers, there have been floods of about 12 feet submerging vehicles, knocking over houses, and trapping residents inside their homes.

     I’m sure that many people in the Midwest, or even the rest of the United States, do not care about Hurricane Ian as much as others – especially those inside the hurricane’s path. However, there are numerous people, maybe even you, that have relatives or close friends living somewhere in Florida. Hopefully, whenever Hurricane Ian passes over, we can recover from a lot of the damage. With North Carolina and South Carolina now on tropical storm watch, there will be much more damage done before Ian has passed through.

https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2022-hurricane-ian-facts-faqs-and-how-to-help#fast-facts

https://www.wane.com/weather/hurricane-ian-impacts-and-facts/

https://www.weather.gov/source/zhu/ZHU_Training_Page/tropical_stuff/hurricane_anatomy/hurricane_anatomy.html#:~:text=Many%20of%20these%20remain%20over,winds%20greater%20than%20110%20mph