page_title: Effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Track map of Hurricane Irma of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir–Simpson scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm, according to the legend below. Saffir–Simpson scale Tropical depression≤38 mph≤62 km/h Category 3111–129 mph178–208 km/h Tropical storm39–73 mph63–118 km/h Category 4130–156 mph209–251 km/h Category 174–95 mph119–153 km/h Category 5≥157 mph≥252 km/h Category 296–110 mph154–177 km/h Unknown Storm type Tropical cyclone Subtropical cyclone Extratropical cyclone / Remnant low / Tropical disturbance / Monsoon depression
context_page_description: Hurricane Irma was the costliest storm in the history of the U.S. state of Florida. Irma developed from a tropical wave near the Cape Verde Islands on August 30, 2017. The storm quickly became a hurricane on August 31 and then a major hurricane shortly thereafter, but would oscillate in intensity over the next few days. By September 4, Irma resumed strengthening, and became a powerful Category 5 hurricane on the following day. The cyclone then struck Saint Maarten and the British Virgin Islands on September 6 and later crossed Little Inagua in the Bahamas on September 8. Irma briefly weakened to a Category 4, but re-intensified into a Category 5 hurricane before making landfall in the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago of Cuba. After falling to Category 3 status due to land interaction, the storm re-strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane in the Straits of Florida. Irma struck Florida twice on September 10 – the first as a Category 4 at Cudjoe Key and the second on Marco Island as a Category 3. The hurricane weakened significantly over Florida and was reduced to a tropical storm before exiting the state into Georgia on September 11.
context_section_description: A tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa on August 27. After three days, the system organized into a tropical cyclone to the west of the Cape Verde Islands. Initially classified as a tropical storm, Irma quickly intensified under favorable environmental conditions such as warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear, becoming a hurricane on August 31. Later that day, the storm reached major hurricane status, becoming a Category 3 hurricane. However, Irma oscillated in intensity over the next few days due to drier air. By September 4, Irma resumed strengthening, becoming a powerful Category 5 hurricane with 180 mph (285 km/h) – and the most intense tropical cyclone over the open Atlantic – on the following day. The hurricane then struck Sint Maarten and the British Virgin Islands on September 6 and later crossed Little Inagua in the Bahamas on September 8.
  Irma briefly weakened to a Category 4, but re-intensified into a Category 5 hurricane before making landfall in the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago of Cuba. After falling to Category 2 status due to land interaction, the storm re-strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane in the Straits of Florida. At 13:10 UTC on September 10, Irma made landfall on Cudjoe Key as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 mph (215 km/h). Moving northward and weakening, the hurricane made a second landfall in Florida on Marco Island at 19:35 UTC with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h). The hurricane weakened significantly over Florida and was reduced to a tropical storm before exiting the state into Georgia on September 11.
  Irma was the first major hurricane to strike the state since Wilma in 2005 and the first Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Charley in 2004. The storm made landfall in Florida on the same date as Hurricane Donna, the last Category 4 hurricane to strike the Florida Keys. Irma was only the second hurricane to hit Florida since Wilma, the other being Hermine in 2016. Due to few very intense hurricanes since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, there was concern that many Floridians never experienced or did not recall experiencing  a hurricane as strong as Irma was projected to be at landfall, with significant growth in population and assets during the previous 25 years.
caption: Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
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