Hurricane Irene (1999)

Hurricane Irene

Category 2 hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Irene before landfall
Formed	October 13, 1999
Dissipated	October 24, 1999
(Extratropical after October 19, 1999)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 110 mph (175 km/h)
Lowest pressure	958 mbar (hPa); 28.29 inHg
Fatalities	3 direct, 15 indirect
Damage	$800 million (2011 USD)
Areas affected	Cuba, Bahamas, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia
Part of the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Irene was a hurricane that produced somewhat heavy damage across southern Florida during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. The ninth tropical storm and the sixth hurricane of the season, Irene developed in the western Caribbean Sea on October 13 from a tropical wave. It moved northward, hitting western Cuba before attaining hurricane status. Irene struck Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, moved across the state, and moved northward over the Gulf Stream. It approached the Carolinas but remained offshore. Irene turned eastward, and rapidly intensified to reach Category 2 hurricane status before becoming extratropical due to cooler waters. The hurricane first produced heavy rainfall across western Cuba, causing four deaths and damage. Irene was a wet Florida hurricane in October, similar to many hurricanes of the 1930s and 1940s. It later dropped 10 to 20 inches (255 to 510 mm) of rainfall in the Miami metropolitan area, causing urban flooding unseen since Hurricane Dennis in 1981. Despite being only a Category 1 hurricane, Irene caused eight indirect deaths and $800 million (1999 USD) in damage across Florida.

The hurricane produced flooding and caused one death in the northwestern Bahamas. In North Carolina and Virginia, Irene produced heavy rainfall of over 10 inches (255 mm), adding more flooding after previous Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd. The flooding closed many roads, and caused rivers to crest past their banks, though damage in the area was relatively minor.