Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma was a powerful Cape Verde Hurricane that devastated portions of the Caribbean and United States. Hurricane Irma was the 9th storm of the 2017 Hurricane Season. It was the 4th hurricane and 2nd major hurricane, following Hurricane Harvey which made landfall along the Texas Coast on August 25, 2017.

The storm formed from a tropical wave that had moved off the coast of Africa. In 24 hours, Irma organized into a tropical storm and quickly intensified into a Category 2 hurricane. The storm continued to strengthen, eventually becoming a powerful Category 5 hurricane on September 5th. Confirmed landfalls were reported in Antigua, Barbuda, Saint Martin, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos, The Bahamas, and Cuba.

On September 10th, Hurricane Irma made its first official landfall on Cudjoe Key in the Florida Keys and its second landfall on the U.S. mainland near Marco Island, FL later the same day. Hurricane Irma caused more than $63 billion in damages and responsible for the deaths of over 100 people in all of the regions affected by the storm.

This lesson will explore the hazards associated with Hurricane Irma and the impacts the storm had in Florida and other locations in the Southeastern United States.