Hurricane Ian vs. Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Ian has been compared to a hurricane that devastated Florida 18 years prior, Hurricane Charley. While there are some similarities between the two storms, there are also some interesting differences between these hurricanes.
- Hurricane Ian made landfall at Cayo Costa, FL, on September 28, the same location as Hurricane Charley's landfall on August 13, 2004.
- Both storms made landfall at roughly the same time of day, 3:05 pm EDT for Ian and 3:45 pm EDT for Charley.
- Both formed in the Caribbean Sea, cut across the western tip of Cuba and made a second United States landfall near the Georgetown/Mrytle Beach area in South Carolina after moving across Florida.
- Even their lowest pressure and maximum winds were similar:
- Lowest pressure of Hurricane Charley: 941 millibars
- Maximum winds of Hurricane Charley: 150 mph
- Lowest pressure of Hurricane Ian: 936 millibars
- Maximum winds of Hurricane Ian: 155 mph
- Charley was a smaller hurricane compared to Ian. Tropical storm force winds extended 125 miles in diameter from the center of Charley but were over double that amount (closer to 300 miles) in Ian. The same can be said for the hurricane-force winds of both storms. Charley's hurricane for winds extended 50 miles, while Ian's spanned 90 miles.
- The diameter of Ian's eye was about 35 miles, meaning the majority of Charley's hurricane-force wind field could have fit inside Ian's eye.
- Ian had a slower forward motion (less than ten mph) than Charley (25 mph). Due to this slower speed, Florida experienced a longer period of heavy rainfall, high winds, and surge.
- Hurricane Charley's smaller size and faster forward motion helped limit the storm surge's extent and height when it made landfall along the southwest Florida coast, unlike Hurricane Ian.
Source: CIMSS Satellite Blog