The destruction Hurricane Ian brought Florida’s Gulf Coast is unlike any seen in the modern era and may take years to recover from, a top forecaster warned. See some of the damages so far.
Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a category 4 storm with 150 mph winds, making it one of the strongest storms ever to hit the U.S. mainland. That ties for fifth-strongest at landfall, based on maximum sustained wind speeds.
Ian almost hit as a category 5 storm, the wind speed threshold for that is 157 mph or higher (learn more about hurricane categories here). Only four hurricanes of that caliber have held that strength as they made landfall on the U.S. mainland.
Hurricane Katrina, for example, was far more devastating in terms of loss of life and infrastructure when it made landfall near New Orleans in 2005, but it was a category 3 when it did. So where does Ian rank all time? Here's what NOAA says.
Strongest Hurricanes to Make Landfall in Continental U.S.
1. Unnamed - Sept. 2, 1935: This one came before hurricanes were even given names but it's referred to as the "Labor Day Hurricane" and made landfall in the Florida Keys with 185 mph max sustained winds. It killed more than 400 people and remains the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall on the U.S. mainland in terms of wind speeds.
2. Hurricane Camille -- Aug. 17, 1969: It had sustained maximum wind speeds of 175 mph when it made landfall in Mississippi, killing more than 250 people and wreaking flooding havoc. It had strengthened to a category 5 storm just a day before making landfall there.
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3. Hurricane Andrew -- Aug. 24, 1992: This one also targeted Florida, making landfall in Miami-Dade County with max sustained winds of 165 mph and destroying more than 50,000 homes. Nearly two dozen deaths were reported.
4. Hurricane Michael -- Oct. 10, 2018: The Florida Panhandle was victimized again here, when Michael hit with max sustained winds of 160 mph, according to NOAA. More than 40 deaths were attributed to the storm.
T5. Hurricane Ida -- Aug. 29, 2021: New York felt the impacts of this storm severely, but it made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, with max sustained winds of 150 mph. It came 16 years to the day Katrina made landfall in Louisiana.
T5. Hurricane Laura -- Aug. 27, 2020: Laura made landfall in Cameron, Louisiana overnight that day with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Nearly 50 deaths were directly attributed to it, and many others indirectly.
T45. Hurricane Charley -- Aug. 13, 2004: Another beast to hit Florida, Charley made landfall in Punta Gordo with max sustained winds of 150 mph. It caused an estimated $16 billion in damage.
T5. Unnamed -- Aug. 13, 1932: This one also came before hurricanes had names, but it's known as the Freeport Hurricane and hit Freeport, Texas, with max sustained winds of 150 mph.
T5. Unnamed -- Sept. 14, 1919: It hit the Florida Keys with max sustained winds of 150 mph
T5. Unnamed -- Aug. 20, 1886: This made landfall in Texas with max sustained winds of 150 mph. A 15-foot storm surge was recorded in Indianola, Texas, and destroyed the town.
T5: Hurricane Ian -- Sept. 28, 2022: It made landfall in Cayo Costa, Florida, as a category 4 storm with max sustained winds of 150 mph. The toll will take time to be tallied.
