Marine Tropical Storm — Biscayne Bay, Atlantic South

2022-09-27 to 2022-09-28 · Biscayne Bay, Atlantic South

Event narrative

Sustained tropical storm force winds of 40 to 50 mph/35 to 44 knots were recorded in Biscayne Bay. A peak wind gust of 60 mph/52 knots was recorded by the WeatherFlow mesonet site at Biscayne Bay Light 20 (XKBS) at 2:49 AM EDT.

Wider weather episode

A tropical depression formed in the central Caribbean Sea on September 23rd, then was upgraded to Tropical Storm Ian at 11 PM on September 23rd. Ian moved westward, then turned northwest on September 25th, passing just west of Jamaica and near the Cayman Islands. Ian became a hurricane on Monday, September 26th south of western Cuba, then moved north and made landfall in Pinar Del Rio Province, Cuba early on Tuesday, September 27th as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.

Ian moved into the SE Gulf of Mexico around midday on Tuesday, September 27th, then moved over Dry Tortugas as a Category 3 hurricane later that evening. Ian strengthened over the SE Gulf of Mexico as it approached Southwest Florida, becoming a Category 4 hurricane at 7 AM on Wednesday, September 28th with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph and a lowest central pressure of 936 mb. Ian moved N-NE and made landfall in Cayo Costa west of Fort Myers at 3:05 PM on Wednesday, September 28th with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph and minimum central pressure of 940 mb.

Ian moved NE across the central Florida peninsula during the evening and night of Wednesday, September 28th, finally being downgraded to a tropical storm about 20 miles west of Melbourne at 5 AM Thursday, September 29th. Ian moved off the east coast of Florida just north of Cape Canaveral during the mid-morning hours of Thursday, September 29th.

A peak wind gust of 68 mph/59 knots was recorded on Lake Okeechobee along with a minimum pressure of 988.5 mb as the center of Ian passed just to the north. Wind gusts over the coastal and near shore Atlantic waters and Biscayne Bay were in the 40-57 knot/46-65 mph range, with a peak gust of 56 knots/64 mph measured at Juno Beach Pier.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1057064. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.