Hurricane Ivan

Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane, and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Ivan formed in early September and reached Category 5 strength on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale (SSHS). Ivan caused catastrophic damage in Grenada as a strong Category 3 storm, heavy damage in Jamaica as a strong Category 4 storm, and then severe damage in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and the western tip of Cuba as a Category 5 hurricane. After peaking in strength, the hurricane moved north-northwest across the Gulf of Mexico to strike Pensacola/Milton, Florida and Alabama as a strong Category 3 storm, causing significant damage. Ivan dropped heavy rain on the Southeastern United States as it progressed northeastward and eastward through the Eastern United States, becoming an extratropical cyclone on September 18. The remnant low of the storm moved into the western subtropical Atlantic and regenerated into a tropical cyclone on September 22, which then moved across Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, and then into Louisiana and Texas, causing minimal damage. Ivan degenerated into a remnant low on September 24, before dissipating on the next day.

Ivan caused an estimated US$26.1 billion (equivalent to $ billion in ) in damage along its path, of which $20.5 billion occurred in the United States.

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Meteorological history

The origins of Ivan were from a tropical wave, which developed into a tropical depression on September 2 to the southwest of Cape Verde. It moved westward and strengthened into Tropical Storm Ivan on September 3, the ninth named storm of the season by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Two days later, Ivan reached hurricane strength while moving at a low latitude across the Atlantic Ocean, the sixth hurricane of the season. It intensified rapidly, becoming a major hurricane late on September 5, the fourth of the season. Ivan reached Category 4 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale at 00:00 UTC on September 6, but rapidly weakened due to dry air. On September 7, Ivan restrengthened and passed just north of Grenada with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h). After entering the Caribbean Sea, Ivan strengthened further and became a Category 5 hurricane on September 9, just north of the Netherlands Antilles. Two days later, the hurricane passed 23 mi (37 km) south of Jamaica. It fluctuated between Category 4 and 5 intensity in the Caribbean, reaching peak winds of and a minimum pressure of . The hurricane passed within of Grand Cayman on September 12, and two days later passed 17 mi (28 km) west of the westernmost tip of Cuba. Once over the Gulf of Mexico, Ivan weakened slightly as it turned to the north toward the Gulf Coast of the United States. At 06:50 UTC on September 16, Ivan made landfall at Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 3 hurricane, with sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h). It weakened quickly over land, falling to tropical depression status over Alabama, and becoming an extratropical cyclone over Virginia on September 18. The remnant low of Ivan drifted off the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast into the Atlantic Ocean, turning southward and moving across Florida. It redeveloped into a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico on September 22, and became a tropical storm with a secondary peak of 60 mph (95 km/h). Ivan weakened before making landfall late on September 23 near Cameron, Louisiana as a tropical depression. It dissipated on September 24.

Records

On September 3, Ivan became the southernmost Atlantic hurricane at 9.5° N. Later that day, it became the southernmost major hurricane in the Atlantic at 10.2° N. Ivan's duration as a Category 4 hurricane or stronger was longer than any other tropical cyclone on record, with a total of 198 hours. It was surpassed by Hurricane Ioke in 2006, which held the intensity for 216 hours. When Ivan was in the Gulf of Mexico on September 15, a tide gauge recorded a wave height of . Because the gauge likely did not record the highest wave, researchers estimated that waves could have reached a height of . It was the largest significant wave height in United States territorial waters, surpassing an observation in the Gulf of Alaska in January 1991. The hurricane also produced the fastest seafloor current, at . After hitting the United States, Ivan produced the largest tornado outbreak associated with a tropical cyclone, with at least 118 confirmed twisters.

Preparations

thumb|upright=1.2|Satellite images of Hurricane Ivan in stages across the storm's path

Caribbean

Due to the threat from Ivan, the first tropical cyclone warnings and watches were issued on September 5. Hurricane warnings were issued from Trinidad and Tobago to Saint Lucia, including Barbados and Grenada. Tropical storm warnings were also issued for the northern coast of Venezuela through the Guajira Peninsula of Colombia. A hurricane watch was also issued for the ABC islands. Some shelters were damaged during the hurricane, forcing the evacuees to go elsewhere. Barbadian officials closed schools and government buildings, opened shelters, and turned off the power grid as a preventative measure. Saint Lucia opened four shelters, Oil refineries were closed in Curaçao and Aruba, while offshore production halted in Trinidad and Tobago. In Venezuela, thousands of people evacuated from coastal areas. Four airports closed in the country.

As Ivan progressed westward, hurricane warnings were issued for both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. About 500,000 Jamaicans were told to evacuate from coastal areas. More than 1,000 shelters were set up across the country. About 2,600 British vacationers were flown away from Jamaica via the Dominican Republic. The national blood bank requested residents to donate blood, in anticipation of potential injuries. Air Jamaica canceled all flights to and from the island, as well as inter-island flights; aircraft were transported to the United States until the storm passed. Businesses in Kingston were closed, and fishermen secured their boats to trees. Residents in the Cayman Islands stayed in emergency shelters during the hurricane. The World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization distributed four emergency kits to southern Haiti, capable of covering basic needs for 40,000 people. A flight from Port-au-Prince to Miami was canceled. The Cuban government issued a hurricane warning for the western portion of the country, including Isla de la Juventud.

United States

As early as September 9, the NHC anticipated that Ivan would hit southern Florida as a major hurricane within five days. On September 10, Florida Governor Jeb Bush issued a state of emergency. The NHC first issued a tropical storm watch for the Florida Keys on September 12.

After Ivan's threat shifted to the northern Gulf Coast, officials issued mandatory evacuations across the gulf coast, estimated at over 1 million people. On September 14, the NHC issued hurricane watches for the northern gulf coast, and later that day issued a hurricane warning between from Grand Isle, Louisiana to Apalachicola, Florida. Mandatory evacuations were issued for coastal areas of Alabama south of Interstate 10, including parts of Mobile. All lanes on I-65 were rerouted to go north to allow for more drivers, known as contraflow. In Mississippi, evacuation of mobile homes and vulnerable areas took place in Hancock, Jackson, and Harrison counties. Around 600,000 people evacuated across southeastern Louisiana, including residents in Greater New Orleans who were advised to evacuate. The Louisiana Superdome was used for special needs residents unable to evacuate. Contraflow was used along Interstate 10 (I-10); however, there were still significant traffic jams, and four elderly women in Louisiana died during the evacuations. Ivan prompted the evacuation of 270 animals at Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo in Gulf Shores, Alabama to a zookeeper's house located 20 mi (32 km) inland. The hurricane also caused several sports matchups to be adjusted, including a soccer match in Tuscaloosa between the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a Major League Baseball series between the Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos, and the season opener between the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins.

After Ivan reformed, a tropical storm warning was issued from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Sargent, Texas, which included areas that were under hurricane warnings six days earlier.

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| The hurricane led to 39 fatalities and $1.1 billion in damage in the country, about 200% of its GDP. Several indirect fatalities occurred in the aftermath of the hurricane, primarily senior citizens. Ivan was considered Grenada's worst hurricane to strike the nation since Hurricane Janet in 1955. About 18,000 people were left homeless by the hurricane, and about 700 people sustained injuries from the storm. In the capital city of St. George's, every major building was either damaged or destroyed, including York House, home of the Parliament of Grenada. The hurricane damaged or destroyed 75 primary or secondary schools, with only two left in working condition. An estimated 60% of hotel rooms were damaged, which adversely affected tourism.

Wave heights from the hurricane reached along coastline portions of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Moderate damage was also reported on Palm Island and Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The winds left more than two-thirds of the island without power, Damage in the country totaled $40 million. Wind gusts on the island reached . Power outages affected 30% of the island, and at least 45 homes lost their roofs, leaving 22 people homeless. While passing north of the ABC Islands, Ivan produced high winds, strong waves, and heavy rainfall, causing $1.1 worth of damage. High winds blew away roof shingles.

Greater Antilles

While passing south of Puerto Rico, Ivan generated high waves that washed rocks and debris ashore the southern coast near Salinas. A portion of Highway 109 was closed for 12 hours at Las Ochenta due to debris. Along the southern coast of the Dominican Republic, high waves killed four people. Strong surf also affected the southern coast of Haiti, causing damage to the port and wrecking three houses at Jacmel. Throughout Haiti, Ivan damaged or destroyed the houses of 2,500 people, mostly on the Tiburon Peninsula. Ivan caused severe damage, damaging and destroying houses, and triggering mudslides that washed out roads. In Kingston, the winds downed trees and poles and caused flooding. Waves flooded a causeway to an airport near Kingston. Some roads throughout the region were left impassible due to downed trees and utility poles. In Montego Bay, the Barnett River overflowed its banks; businesses were flooded with up to of water. Roads suffered flooding, and part of the A1 Road, the primary northern coastal highway, was washed away. Most of the major resorts and hotels fared well, and were reopened only a few days after Ivan had passed.

thumb|Damage from Ivan in the [[Cayman Islands.]]

As a Category 5 hurricane, Ivan passed just southwest of George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands, on September 12. Sustained winds there reached , with gusts to . The storm surge, in addition to waves waves, submerged nearly all of Grand Cayman, except for the extreme northeastern portion of the island. Owen Roberts International Airport and several homes were inundated by the floodwaters from the surge. Rainfall also reached on Grand Cayman. On Cayman Brac to the northeast of Grand Cayman, Ivan produced wind gusts of and of rainfall. Ivan produced an outbreak of 120 tornadoes from Alabama to Maryland, becoming the largest tornado outbreak associated with a tropical cyclone in the United States. The tornadoes caused at least eight fatalities and injured 17 people. In Florida, Blountstown, Marianna, and Panama City Beach suffered three of the most devastating tornadoes. A Panama City Beach news station was nearly hit by an F2 tornado during the storm.

As it passed over the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, Ivan caused the destruction of Taylor Energy's Mississippi Canyon 20-A production platform, above 28 producing oil and gas wells drilled in water deep. Waves estimated to be caused tremendous pressures below the surface, causing a landslide that obliterated the platform. Hundreds of gallons of oil per day were still leaking onto the surface of the Gulf fourteen years later. The United States Coast Guard reported that the spill had been contained in 2019.

Alabama

thumb|Damage from Ivan at the [[Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge]]

When Ivan made landfall in Alabama, it brought strong winds, heavy rain, and storm surge. In Wolf Bay in Baldwin County, a wind gust of was reported, along with a storm surge ranging from high, and a peak of of rainfall. Thousands of homes in Escambia, Baldwin County, and Mobile County were damaged or destroyed. During the peak of the storm, 825,000 customers lost power. Major damage was reported at the Gulf Shore Zoo, and despite efforts to evacuate all animals, several deer and six alligators escaped after their enclosures were destroyed. The Alabama Forestry Commission reported $610 million in damage to timber over around of land. Around inches of rain fell in Birmingham over a one day period, the most the city had recorded in over 100 years. Away from the core of the storm, Ivan brought tropical storm-force winds to southwest Alabama. In Dothan, sustained winds of and a peak gust of was reported. High winds caused damage to trees, power lines, and businesses in both Geneva and Coffee Counties. After the remnants of Ivan reemerged in the Gulf, it brought high surf to beaches on the coast, hindering cleanup efforts.

Miraculously, no lives were lost in Alabama from direct impacts; however, 9 people lost their lives from indirect impacts. Hurricane Ivan was also the strongest hurricane to hit Alabama since Hurricane Frederic in 1979, which was a Category 4.

Florida

Throughout Florida, Ivan killed 14 people directly and another 13 indirectly. Although Ivan moved ashore Alabama, it produced Category 3 hurricane conditions across portions of extreme western Florida. The strongest winds in the state were at Naval Air Station Pensacola, which recorded sustained winds of 87 mph (141 km/h). A police department in Pensacola recorded wind gusts of 124 mph (200 km/h) at a height of . Also in the city, the WEAR-TV station measured of precipitation, which was the state's highest rainfall from the hurricane. Ivan also produced a significant storm surge along Florida's west coast, estimated from from Destin westward. The west bank of the Escambia Bay Bridge carrying I-10 recorded a storm surge of . High waves destroyed of roadway along both spans of the bridge. A trucker drowned after driving off the damaged bridge. The causeway carrying U.S. Highway 90 across the northern part of the same bay was also heavily damaged. After Ivan regenerated in the Gulf of Mexico, high waves caused additional flooding, which disrupted cleanup efforts.

In Escambia and Santa Rosa counties – the two westernmost on the Florida panhandle – Ivan damaged more than 75,000 houses, which displaced about 50,000 people. In both counties, nearly every waterfront structure sustained damage, including several homes swept away. The hurricane's strong winds also knocked down many trees, causing at least $250 million in timber damage in the state. Two people along the Florida Panhandled died due to falling trees, and a child was killed by a tree limb while the tree was being removed. There was heavy damage as observed in Pensacola, Gulf Breeze, Navarre Beach, and Pensacola Beach. Dwellings situated far inland, as much as from the Gulf coast, along the shorelines of Escambia Bay, East Bay, Blackwater Bay, and Ward Basin in Escambia County and Santa Rosa County, and Fort Walton Beach, Florida on the eastern side of the storm. The area just west of Pensacola, including the community of Warrington (which includes Pensacola NAS), Perdido Key, and Innerarity Point, took the brunt of the storm. Some of the subdivisions in this part of the county were completely destroyed, with a few key roads in the Perdido area only opened in late 2005, over a year after the storm hit. Shattered windows from gusts and flying projectiles experienced throughout the night of the storm were common. As of December 2007, roads remained closed on Pensacola Beach because of damage from Ivan's storm surge.

The outer rainbands of Ivan produced a wind gust of on Key West. The winds downed some tree limbs across the Florida Keys, but damage was limited due to the previous hurricanes Charley and Frances. The hurricane produced a storm tide in the Florida Keys.

Southern United States

thumb|Rainfall in the United States caused by Ivan

Hurricane-force wind gusts spread across southeastern Mississippi, with a peak observation of 87 mph (141 km/h) recorded on the top of a two-story building in Pascagoula.

Ivan produced heavy rainfall in Georgia, reaching near Clayton. This added to the heavy rains from the remnants of Frances a week prior, causing record flooding along rivers and streams. In White County, a girl was swept away and killed by floods. Parts of Gilmer County had 500-year floods along the Cartecay River, washing away five mobile homes, parts of three bridges, and several vehicles. The Peachtree Creek in Atlanta crested at , the highest on record,