Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Irma at peak intensity near the U.S. Virgin Islands on September 6
Formed	August 30, 2017
Dissipated	September 13, 2017
(Extratropical after September 12)
Highest winds	1-minute sustained: 185 mph (295 km/h)
Lowest pressure	914 mbar (hPa); 26.99 inHg
Fatalities	61 total (as of September 13)
Damage	> $62 billion (2017 USD) (Unofficially fourth-costliest hurricane on record)
Areas affected	Cape Verde, Leeward Islands (especially Barbuda, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin and the Virgin Islands), Greater Antilles, Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, Eastern United States (especially Florida)
Part of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and catastrophic Cape Verde type hurricane, the most intense observed in the Atlantic since Dean in 2007. It was also the most intense Atlantic hurricane to strike the United States since Katrina in 2005, and the first major hurricane to landfall the state of Florida since Wilma in 2005. The ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, Irma caused widespread and catastrophic damage throughout its long lifetime, particularly in parts of the northeastern Caribbean.

Irma developed on August 30, 2017 near the Cape Verde Islands, from a tropical wave that had moved off the west African coast three days prior. Under favorable conditions, Irma rapidly intensified shortly after formation, becoming a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale within a mere 24 hours. It became a Category 3 hurricane (and therefore a major hurricane) shortly afterward; however, the intensity fluctuated between Categories 2 and 3 for the next several days due to a series of eyewall replacement cycles. On September 4, Irma resumed intensifying, becoming a Category 5 hurricane by early the next day. On September 6, Irma reached its peak intensity with 185 mph (295 km/h) winds and a minimum pressure of 914 mbar (914 hPa; 27.0 inHg), making it the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide so far in 2017. Another eyewall replacement cycle caused Irma to weaken back to a Category 4 hurricane, but the storm attained Category 5 status for a second time while making landfall in Cuba. After dropping to Category 3 intensity due to land interaction, the storm re-intensified to Category 4 as it crossed warm waters between Cuba and the Florida Keys before making landfall on Cudjoe Key with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 km/h). Irma dropped back to Category 3 by the time it made a second Florida landfall on Marco Island. Irma weakened to a Category 2 hurricane later that day, the first time it weakened below major hurricane status in over a week, and eventually dissipated over the southeastern United States.