HURRICANE IVAN: FIVE YEARS LATER

Hurricane Ivan was the strongest southern hurricane on record while traversing the Atlantic and Caribbean, reaching Category 5 strength with sustained winds near 160 mph. The storm weakened to a Category 3 before moving onshore, but still devastated Florida’s Panhandle as it felt the brunt of the hurricane. The storm, with its 60-mile-wide eye and 10-15 foot surge, caused $14.2 billion in damage nationwide. The figure makes Ivan the sixth costliest hurricane on record in the U.S.

Looking Back: Hurricane Ivan (video) http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/1023 - Link to embed from

http://floridadisaster.org/hurricanes/2004/ - Link to our 2004 page

DID YOU KNOW?

September is the month often described as the height of "Cape Verde Season," and the 10th is considered the peak of the entire hurricane season. Valid data exists to support this claim: Statistically, over the past 100 years, a very clear pattern analyzing number of storms at any given day of the season, and plotting them on a graph, shows September 10 as the "busiest" day of the year. The graph below is provided by the National Hurricane Center: