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Hurricane Ian was a large, deadly and destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane that caused widespread damage across western Cuba and the southeast United States, especially the states of Florida and South Carolina. It was the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.
Ian originated from a tropical wave that was located by the National Hurricane Center east of the Windward Islands on September 19, 2022. Two days later, the wave moved into the Caribbean Sea, bringing winds and heavy rain to the ABC islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and the northern coasts of Venezuela and Colombia on September 21 and 22. It showed signs of developing into a tropical depression later that day, as convection increased and the system became more compact. After strengthening into Tropical Storm Ian, it became a hurricane as it neared the Cayman Islands, before rapidly intensifying to a high-end Category 3 hurricane as it made landfall in western Cuba. Significant storm surge and heavy rainfall affected Cuba, and the entire province of Pinar del Río lost power. It slightly weakened during its time over land, but re-strengthened once it moved into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico and over the Dry Tortugas. It became a high-end Category 4 hurricane early on September 28, 2022 as it progressed towards the west coast of Florida. Ian remained at Category 4 strength as it made landfall in southwest Florida on Cayo Costa Island, tying with several other storms as the 5th-strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the contiguous United States. After making a second landfall in Southwest Florida, Ian rapidly weakened to a tropical storm before moving back out into Atlantic, where the storm reintensified back to a hurricane and made landfall in South Carolina.
Ian caused catastrophic damage in parts of Southwest Florida, mostly from flooding due to extreme storm surge and rainfall. In particular, the cities of Fort Myers Beach and Naples were impacted strongly. Millions were left without power in the storm's wake, and several inhabitants were forced to take refuge on their roofs. Sanibel suffered major flooding as well and its causeway collapsed. Pine Island in Lee County, Florida also suffered extreme damage and flooding, with the bridge to Fort Myers being leveled. In total, Hurricane Ian has caused at least 108 fatalities including 3 people in Cuba, 101 in Florida, and 4 in North Carolina as of October 3, according to local officials. This makes Ian the deadliest Florida hurricane since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.