Among strongest ever: Ian ranked as Category 5 hurricane

Hurricane Ian has joined the short list of the 39 Category 5 hurricanes in recorded Atlantic history and was Florida’s costliest natural disaster on record.

Hurricane Ian is one for the history books and recovery continues since the remarkable system hit Southwest Florida (SWFL) in September 2022.

Ian caused more than 150 direct and indirect deaths in the United States, most of them occurring in Florida. Storm surge was the deadliest impact, killing 66 people.

Recent analysis by the National Weather Service proved Ian to be a Category 5 (160 mph winds) hurricane in the early hours of September 28th, 2022, adding it to the short list of Category 5 hurricanes.

That afternoon just after 03:00 pm local time, Ian officially made landfall as a strong Category 4 (150 mph) in Cayo Costa, Fla.

Ian made four total landfalls throughout its time as a hurricane starting in western Cuba, just after strengthening to a major Category 3 hurricane on September 27th.

The second and third hit Florida on September 28th before a fourth and final landfall occurred near Charleston, South Carolina on September 30, 2022.

The total cost in damages from Ian was $112 billion – Florida’s number one costliest natural disaster, and the U.S.’s third costliest behind Hurricane Harvey ($148.9 billion) and Hurricane Katrina ($186.3 billion).

Ian produced 15 tornadoes with its outer bands on September 27th and 28th. Fourteen of those tornadoes occurred in Florida, with the last one occurring in coastal North Carolina.

Recovery continues after the heavy losses and damage to SWFL after Hurricane Ian.