| Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
 Hurricane Ian | |
| Formed | September 23, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Dissipated | October 2, 2022 |
| Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 160 mph (260 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 937 mbar (hPa); 27.67 inHg |
| Fatalities | 161 total |
| Damage | $113 billion (2022 USD) |
| Areas affected | |
| Part of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Ian was a devastating and powerful category 5 hurricane. It was the second major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. It affected parts of Florida, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, the Carolinas, and Virginia.
Hurricane Ian started out as a tropical wave east of the Windward Islands. It was located by the National Hurricane Center on September 19, 2022. It passed over Trinidad and Tobago two days later. The storm became a tropical depression on September 23, and it was named Ian as it gained tropical storm status the next day as it moved south of Hispaniola.
On September 26, Ian became a hurricane and quickly strengthened into a Category 3 the following day as it made landfall in Cuba, causing major damage in the country, as well as a nationwide power outage. On September 28, as Ian approached Florida, the storm became a Category 5. After weakening slightly, it made landfall in Florida as a Category 4, causing widespread damage, knocking out power, and killing many.
As the storm moved across Florida, it slowly weakened into a tropical storm on September 29, before moving off the coast and strengthening into a hurricane again on September 30. The storm made landfall in South Carolina later that day, bringing strong winds and causing many power outages in the Carolinas and Virginia. Hurricane Ian went away while its circulation moved over North Carolina on October 1st.
The name Ian was retired in March 2023, and it will be replaced with “Idris” for the 2028 Atlantic hurricane season.
In August 2023, the United States Congress investigated how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) failed to help people affected by Hurricane Ian.
