Thursday, November 12, 2009

Hurricane Ida was no Kate

With the 2009 hurricane season near its conclusion, the last thing that we needed was a late season storm to remind us of Hurricane Kate and the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season.

In 1985, Hurricane Kate was the sixth
hurricane to hit the United States during the 1985 hurricane season. Kate formed late in the season, killed 15 people and caused $530 million in damage on its long path through Florida, and Georgia between November 18 and November 22, 1985.

Similar to Kate, Hurricane Ida did manage to make the short list of late season storms, and thank Heaven that was about all.

Ida the first major storm to reach the United States this hurricane season, started out as a Category 2 hurricane, which threaten the U.S. Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Indian Pass, about 20 miles west of Apalachicola with winds of up to105 mph.

Before making landfall near Alabama, winds from Hurricane Ida dropped below 74 mph, after which forecasters with the National Hurricane Center downgraded the storm to Tropical Storm Ida.

Unlike Hurricane Kate, as it stayed west of Apalachicola the remnants of Ida only caused some localized flooding and moderate surfs due to its heavy rain and gusting winds.

Throughout most of the day Wednesday, Nov 11, the county was under a coastal flood warning with water levels that ran about 3 feet above normal with a total tide of 3 to 5 feet. The county also experienced sustained winds of 20 mph with occasional gusts of 25 to 30 mph.

Kate remains the latest major hurricane on record to form in the Atlantic and to strike the United States. A record now shared with Ida.

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