2004 was a destructive year for the US state of Florida as 4 powerful hurricanes made landfall in the state. However, the 2004 season was way above average in general with 15 named storms developing, 9 hurricanes, and 6 major hurricanes. The most powerful and most destructive storm of the season was Ivan. Ivan was a historic storm in so many ways.

On September 2nd a tropical wave emerged off the coast of Africa, and this wave was farther south. Satellite data indicated the wave already had a closed circulation and winds of 35 mph. Thus it was automatically declared a tropical depression by the Hurricane Center. On September 3rd winds increased to 45 mph and it was given the Name Ivan. Computer models begin to latch on about Ivan becoming a very strong major hurricane. On September the 4th Ivan really started to develop as the winds increased to 65 mph. Satellite data indicated an eye wall structure was forming in the wall. On September the 5th winds increased to 80 mph making Ivan a category 1 hurricane.

Ivan due to very warm water, a moist atmosphere, and no wind shear underwent rapid intensification. By early afternoon on September 5th winds had increased to 110 mph making Ivan a high end category 2 hurricane. Later that evening Ivan became a 135 mph category 4 hurricane. Ivan was no making a beeline toward the island nation of Grenada. Computer models started to show Ivan impacting the US Gulf Coast down the road. Due to an eyewall replacement Cycle Ivan weakened slightly on the 7th as it made landfall in Grenada. Ivan made landfall as a high a 120 mph category 3 hurricane, which was still a major hurricane. Ivan did tremendous amounts of damage in the small island nation. It was considered the worst hurricane to strike the nation in over 25 years.

On September the 8th Ivan entered the Caribbean and started to tap into the very warm waters of the Caribbean. Ivan's winds jumped back up to 145 mph and the pressure started to rapidly drop indicating the storm was strengthening. On September the 9th Ivan winds increased to 160 mph making Ivan a category 5 hurricane. The pressure had dropped to 930 millibars.

For the next several days due to eye wall replacement cycles Ivan would alternate between category 4 and 5 status. On September the 11th in the Western Caribbean Ivan reached its official peak with winds up to 165 mph and a very low pressure of 910 millibars. Ivan due to another eyewall replacement cycle weakened back down to a 150 mph hurricane. Ivan then struck the Cayman Islands as a 150 mph category 4 hurricane. Emerging in the Gulf Ivan reached category 5 status for the last time with winds up to 160 mph. On September 13th it became clear Ivan would strike anywhere from Mississippi to the panhandle of Florida as a major hurricane.

A cold front pulled cooler air over the Gulf despite warm waters the cooler air started to weaken Ivan. On the other hand due to very warm water in the Gulf Ivan only weakened slowly. On September the 15th Ivan was still a 140 mph category 4 hurricane. Shortly after Midnight on September the 16th Ivan made landfall in Gulf Shores Alabama and Pensacola Florida as a high end category 3 hurricane with winds up to 125 mph. However, several sources reported surfaced winds measured 130-135 mph with guest up to 160 mph. Some meteorologists, including myself, believe that Ivan may have been a category 4 at landfall with winds 130-135 mph. The official though is 125 mph winds at landfall. Ivan produced a deadly storm surge. The hurricane was large so its wind field was also very large.

As Ivan moved inland it produced damaging winds, flooding rains, and tornadoes. Tornadoes touched down in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia. Oh but Ivan was not done. I very unusual event was about to happen. When Ivan entered the southwest part of Virginia it was a powerful remnant low. On September the 19th the extra-tropical version of Ivan moved off the Virginia coast into the Atlantic. A ridge of high pressure caused the Low to go back to the southwest. On September the 21st Ivan completed its loop and was back in the Gulf of Mexico.

On September 22nd Ivan regained tropical system status. It quickly became a tropical storm again. On September 23rd Ivan made landfall in Louisiana as a tropical storm producing flooding rains in that state. On September 24th Ivan was declared gone for good. In total Ivan lasted 22 days. Certainly not the record, but a very long lived storm indeed.

Not only was Ivan the most powerful storm of the 2004 season it was also the most destructive. In Grenada Ivan killed nearly 40 people due to its storm surge and winds. While Ivan did not make landfall in Jamaica its rain bands caused flooding in that country killing 20 people. In the Cayman Islands Ivan killed 5 people. In the United States Ivan killed 60 people. 125 deaths have been attributed to Ivan. In Grenada Ivan caused $1.5 Billion dollars worth of damage. In the Cayman Islands Ivan caused $3 Billion in damages. In the United States Ivan caused $22 Billion in damages. In general Ivan caused $26.5 Billion dollars of damage in the Caribbean and the United States.

Ivan was historic as it has the most Accumulated Cyclonic Energy of any hurricane in the Modern Era 1950-Present. Ivan's ACE value was 70.40 a record in the modern era. Also Buoys in the Gulf measured waves generated by Ivan in the waters reaching up to 132 feet. Ivan is also one of the very few cyclones to do a complete loop. Furthermore, Ivan produced the most tornadoes by a tropical system. In total a 125 tornadoes touched down from Ivan. When Ivan made landfall in the Gulf Coast storm surges of 12-18 feet was reported.

In Tennessee Ivan caused severe flooding that caused millions dollars worth of damage. The 5-10 inch rainfall in East Tennessee caused rock slides, washed away some roads, and several homes and businesses had flooding.

In conclusion, Ivan was a historic storm for its high ACE rating, number of tornadoes it generated, and its destruction. As I stated Ivan was the most destructive and strongest storm of the 2004 season. Due to the destruction in Grenada, Cayman Islands, and the United States. The Name Ivan was retired the following year. It was replaced with Igor. In 2010 when the 2004 list was used again Hurricane Igor was decimate Newfoundland Canada and it would also be retired. Ivan was the 3rd hurricane to strike Florida and the 4th of 5 hurricanes to strike the United States in 2004. The next storm that developed while Ivan was active would also make history as Hurricane Jeanne.

Ivan the terrible indeed

classgame: I was just staring my meteorological studies when Ivan formed. I had a professor that referred to the Hurricane as Ivan the terrible. He also called Jeanne mean Jeanne. He turned both hurricanes into a lesson for us.

tornadocam: what did he call Hurricane Katrina

classgame: He called Katrina a monster of a storm that would be very historic. He said it would be like no hurricane the US had seen in a very long time.