JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — One year ago today we were dealing with coastal flooding a lot worse than what we are seeing today. That was during Hurricane Ian, which ended up being the costliest storm in Florida’s history producing an estimated 109 billion dollars in damages.
The storm made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane in South West Florida, it tied Hurricane Charlie as the 4th most powerful storm to ever hit the state of Florida.
The storm also brought significant rainfall, with 27 inches being reported in Grove City, Florida.
Ian also produced 15 tornadoes across the United States with 14 of them occurring in Florida. One tornado an EF2 left a six-nautical mile track in Palm Beach County, leaving two injured.
The storm was responsible for at least 156 deaths. In Florida, the storm surge claimed 41 lives.
Hurricane Ian was among the 2022 retired storm names released in late March. This means no tropical system in the Atlantic will ever be named Ian again.
On the First Coast St. Augustine saw significant flooding as water levels were pushed up with onshore winds on September 28 flooding coastal areas. Inland locations also experienced flooding for some time after the storm. Places like Welaka well upstream from the coast along the St. Johns saw flooding for weeks after the storm as heavy rainfall tried to drain out into an already backed-up river following the storm surge from Ian.
Hurricane Ian was among the 2022 retired storm names released in late March. This means no tropical system in the Atlantic will ever be named Ian again.