Irma: A storm of records
What was once Hurricane Irma has now become a weakening tropical storm. Maximum winds within the storm are down to 50 mph, with gusts as high as 65 mph. It’s still weakening and will likely become a tropical depression through the night Monday into Tuesday. But the once-powerful hurricane was one of the strongest storms to ever track through the Atlantic Ocean.
Irma belongs to a unique group of storms collectively called Cape Verde hurricanes. These are usually the most intense and strongest hurricanes during a season, due to the amount of warm water they must travel over. Not every tropical wave that comes off the coast of Africa turns into a hurricane, but the 10 percent that do are closely watched as they track toward the U.S.
Irma strengthened rapidly into a Category 5 hurricane and had sustained winds of 185 mph, close to the theoretical limit of 190 mph winds. Of course, there are outliers, such as Hurricane Patricia in 2015, which had wind speeds of almost 215 mph. Even so, Irma was a very strong Category 5 hurricane and the strongest in the Atlantic Basin outside the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
As Irma tracked its way toward the United States, it prompted one of the largest evacuations in history and dealt the Leeward Islands the strongest storm they have ever seen. Irma maintained a Category 5 status and sparked fear in many people as it continued to race towards the U.S.
By late Friday, Irma wobbled to the south slightly and made landfall on the coast of Cuba. It was the strongest hurricane to make landfall there in nearly 100 years and tracked along the coast for nearly 24 hours. It was grave news for Cuba, but reassuring news for the U.S., as the hurricane weakened into a Category 3 storm. Although it was expected to strengthen as it made the northward turn to Florida, it was looking as if the peninsula might be spared from a Category 5 hurricane, which would have been the first since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Irma was still a dangerous storm though. It wreaked havoc across the Florida Keys and eventually made landfall near Marco Island, Florida, as a Category 4 hurricane. Irma has weakened significantly since then, but widespread damage and power outages are felt across Florida and the Southeastern U.S. Storm surges, tornadoes, wind damage and flash flooding are still threats for parts of the country.
When all is said and done, Irma will go down in history and in the record books, and the name will be retired, as have been the names of many storms that caused catastrophic damage in the past.
Click here for a full list of records relating to Hurricane Irma.
Stay with ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather as we continue to follow the effects of Irma, and follow us on Twitter @ABC17Stormtrack.
