What was Hurricane Ian?
Hurricane Ian was a powerful Atlantic hurricane which was the third-costliest weather disaster on record, and the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. Ian caused widespread damage across western Cuba and the southeast United States, especially the states of Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. It was the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. Ian was the strongest hurricane to hit the state since Hurricane Michael in 2018, the most recent major hurricane to strike the west coast of Florida since Hurricane Irma in 2017, the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic since Hurricane Lorenzo of 2019, and the strongest Category 4 hurricane to hit the region since Hurricane Charley in 2004, which made a near identical landfall.