In his role as warning coordinator, Molleda worked to brief South Florida leaders as they made decisions on public safety.
“Some hurricanes don’t give us that luxury to prepare, so we could track it before it even became a threat.” “It was the first major hurricane to hit Florida since Wilma,” which hit in 2005, Molleda said. Because the storm formed so far east, the silver lining is that there was several days to prepare. Irma maintained 185-plus mile per hour winds for over 36 hours. Hurricanes of these kind can reach major hurricane status early on and maintain their intensity for a long period. “They form during the peak of hurricane season, if the conditions are right.” “Irma was a classic Cape Verde hurricane,” said Robert Molleda, Warning Coordinator Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Miami. As it continued northwestward into Alabama, Irma became a remnant low before eventually dissipating over southeastern Missouri on September 13.
While Irma did undergo a rapid weakening trend through September 10, the extent of tropical storm-force winds was quite large, extending more than 400 miles from the center.īy September 11, Irma weakened to a tropical storm just west of Gainesville, Florida. Once inland, Irma quickly weakened due to interaction with land and increasingly strong wind shear. Later that day, Irma would go on to make its final landfall near Marco Island, Florida, as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 miles per hour. The hurricane then passed over Cuba and weakened slightly to a Category 4 before making landfall in Florida on September 10 near Cudjoe Key with maximum winds of more than 130 miles per hour. This allowed Irma to grow and strengthen even more, reaching Category 5 status on Sept. 2 and 4, Hurricane Irma moved over warmer sea surface temperatures. Only two days after developing, rapid intensification allowed Hurricane Irma to reach major hurricane status. Within 30 hours of being designated a tropical depression, Irma became a hurricane.
Later that same day, the ninth system of the season was named: Tropical Storm Irma.īy Aug. Just three days later, satellite imagery indicated that the surface circulation had become well-defined and deep convection was sufficiently organized.
Irma started as a tropical wave off the west coast of Africa on Aug. Half a decade later, we look back at Irma’s impact and the changes in hurricane preparedness and response that it brought to Florida. Notably, Irma also caused a massive evacuation of an estimated 6.8 million Floridians, displacing roughly a third of residents and visitors. According to the CDC, Irma caused the death of 123 people in Florida. An incredibly strong storm, the damage brought by Irma contributed to the most expensive year of weather events ever, totaling over $300 billion across 16 events.Īs of July 2022, federal assistance to households and communities who sustained damage after Irma have totaled $5.58 billion. Nearly the entire peninsula was under a hurricane watch or warning by the time the storm reached Florida’s southwestern shore. This week marks five years since Hurricane Irma hit Florida.
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