Signs of tribulations: Record onslaught of storms continues…
In the past two years, hurricanes have been brewing, strengthening and hitting the United States at a record pace, and Ida will likely go down as one of the nastiest of a dangerous bunch.
While not quite record-setting, Ida is among some of strongest and fastest intensifying storms in more than 150 years of hurricane records.
When it hit Louisiana on Sunday as a Category 4 storm with 150 mph (241 kph) winds, Ida tied for fifth “with a whole bunch of other notorious storms,” for highest wind speed when making landfall in the United States, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. It is behind the 1935 Labor Day storm, 1969’s Camille, 1992’s Andrew and 2018’s Michael. Wind speeds sometimes get changed later after damage is reviewed with both Andrew and Michael upgraded to a Category 5 storm long after landfall.
But the true historical mark for this storm is its place as an exclamation point in an onslaught of recent storms.
When Ida made landfall, it was the 17th storm to hit the United States in the past two years, the sixth of 2021, said Jeff Masters, a former NOAA hurricane hunter meteorologist and founder of Weather Underground. Already this year, Claudette, Danny, Elsa, Fred and Henri have hit the United States, but all were tropical storms when they made landfall.
Over the past 71 years, the United States averages only three landfalling storms a year. This year’s pace is only a tad behind last year’s record pace of 11 landfalls in the United States, Masters said.
Ida’s 150 mph (240 kph) blow to Louisiana on Sunday marked the first time in recorded history that a state got back-to-back years of 150 mph winds or more. Last year, Hurricane Laura hit Louisiana with 150 mph winds, said meteorologist Steve Bowen, head of Catastrophe Insight for the risk insurance and consulting firm Aon.
