As I mentioned in one of my other threads the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season was an average season. In my last thread I listed all of the destructive storms. I briefly covered Ian, but I think Ian deserves a thread of its own.

Hurricane Ian was the most destructive hurricane of the 2002 season. A new report shows Ian caused close to $114 Billion in damages this makes Ian the 3rd costliest USA hurricane behind Katrina and Harvey. In addition, Ian is believed to have caused close to 160 deaths with 20-25% of those deaths being suicides.

So how did Ian begin and how did it become so powerful?

Ian originated from a tropical low in the Far Atlantic. Due to dry air the low did not develop for a few days. The low made it into the Caribbean. Once in the Caribbean the low started to organize and it was named Tropical Storm Ian.

Ian continued to intensify. Once in the Western Caribbean Ian went rapid intensification. The storm quickly became a category 2 hurricane. Ian first struck the western tip of Cuba as a high end Category 2 hurricane. Due to the land being flat Ian continued strengthening as it entered the Gulf of Mexico.

Water temps in the Gulf of Mexico were above average due to an ongoing La Nina. A trough kept Ian from going north. This set up a disaster because it meant Ian would go over the warmest part of the Gulf and right into the US State of Florida.

Ian became a category 3 hurricane, which made Ian a major hurricane. In a few hours Ian went from 115 mph to 145 mph. 145 mph made Ian a category 4 hurricane. It became clear that Ian would strike southwest Florida.

Ian continued to strengthen becoming a 155 mph high end category 4 hurricane before landfall. Ian was almost a category 5 hurricane. The powerful hurricane struck the Cape Coral/Fort Myers area of Florida at peak strength.

Ian was also a large hurricane which meant it would have a high storm surge. Some places had a storm surge over 14 feet. Ian's large size meant a good chunk of Florida would have hurricane force winds.

To make maters worse Ian was a very slow mover it spent days over Florida producing hurricane force winds, storm surge, flooding rains, and tornadoes. Eventually Ian moved off of Florida as a strong tropical storm, but Ian was not done.

Ian went over the Gulf Stream becoming a hurricane once again. Ian did speed up but going over warm water allowed it to continue to strengthen. Ian was a high end category 1 hurricane at its final landfall in South Carolina.

Despite the state of Florida being well prepared the destruction was described as epic proportions. Keep in mind Florida has had some destructive hurricanes: Andrew, Opal, Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, Wilma, Irma, and Michael.

Most of the deaths from Ian came from people that stayed home and did not head the warnings. In addition, a lot of deaths occurred due to flooding. Sadly, 20-25% of the deaths were suicides after people lost everything.

Overall, Ian caused close to $114 million damages. $90 Billion of that was done in the state of Florida.

I would not be surprised if Ian became the 14th I named storm to be retired. Ian will likely join Ione, Inez, Iris, Isidore, Isabell, Ivan, Ike, Igor, Irene, Ingrid, Irma, Iota, and Ida as being retired.