Hurricane Katrina

A Category 5 hurricane can reach up to 157 miles per hour, causing catastrophic damage, according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. After striking ...

This was an unprecedented hurricane for the region. Of the 50,000, more than 3,000 structures were destroyed. mainland](https://www.weather.gov/mob/camille): Labor Day (1935), Camille (1969), Andrew (1992), and Michael (2018). At landfall, the wind speed hit 165 mph. The storm hit Mississippi counties the hardest, followed by the Alabama coast and Mobile metro area. [Category 5 hurricanes](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/hurricane) are one of the strongest forces Mother Nature can throw at coastal residents. On the day of the storm, officials sent a train to evacuate the men, but it failed to reach the camps located on Lower Matecumbe Key due to high winds blowing it off the tracks, and the veterans were killed during the storm. [Hurricane Ian](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/hurricane-ian) could make landfall in [Florida](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/florida) on Wednesday as a devastating and incredibly rare Category 5 hurricane. However, scientists' analyses peg the winds to have reached approximately 175 mph. [Hurricane Ian](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/hurricane-ian) is [packing winds at 155 mph](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/live-blog/hurricane-ian-path-tracker-live-updates-florida-cuba), just shy of the Category 5 distinction. The storm also crossed into Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Virginia. After striking land, the aftermath is likely to be widespread, causing a high percentage of destroyed homes and power outages that can last from weeks to months.

Hurricane Ian was intensifying Wednesday, with winds topping 155 mph — just 2 mph shy of becoming a Category 5 storm. That status, which forecasters ...

About 49,000 homes were destroyed and 108,000 damaged, according to the National Weather Service. - Landfall wind measurements: 160 mph - Landfall pressure measurements: 919 millibars The hurricane made landfall in southeast Florida as a Category 1, intensified into a Category 5 in the Gulf of Mexico, then weakened to Category 3 before hitting the northern Gulf Coast. - Landfall wind measurements: 165 mph - Landfall pressure measurements: 922 millibars Only four Category 5 hurricanes have reached the U.S., with the most recent being Hurricane Michael in 2018. - Landfall wind measurements: 175 mph How storms are measured: A drop in pressure, measured in millibars, often indicates the approach of a storm. - Landfall pressure measurements: 900 millibars - Landfall wind measurements: 185 mph What's considered a major hurricane?

A powerful hurricane pushes toward a vulnerable metropolitan area that sits next to an estuary capable of funneling devastating storm surge onto shore.

The paper said the Tampa Bay area was “considered to be one of the most vulnerable population centers to a hurricane strike.” As of Tuesday afternoon, Ian was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of around 120 mph, forecast to strengthen and approach Florida’s coast late Wednesday as an “extremely dangerous major hurricane.” The exact path of the hurricane remains unclear though, and forecasts Tuesday put Ian on a track south of Tampa. Augustine, Florida, said of the Tampa area. The relatively low-lying area, which includes the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg being hit by the storm’s dangerous northeast quadrant, the area most capable of pushing storm surge – involves the contours of the water surrounding them.