Hurricane (Typhoon) — Okeechobee, Florida

2022-09-28 to 2022-09-29 · Okeechobee, Florida

Event narrative

Hurricane Ian's slow movement and large wind field led to a long period of tropical storm force winds, with hurricane force gusts in squalls, in Okeechobee County. Emergency management officials reported trees and power lines downed, as well as some damage to roofs, awnings, fences, and pool enclosures due to strong winds, which surface observations indicated peaked between 65 and 75 mph. A county damage assessment indicated 45 structures affected, 113 with minor damage, 35 with major damage, and 2 destroyed due to strong winds. The combined effects of Hurricane Ian led to a total estimated damage of approximately $1.4M. No storm related deaths were reported by the county.

Wider weather episode

After making landfall as a major hurricane in southwest Florida near Cayo Costa, Ian crossed the peninsula and into east central Florida (southern Osceola County) as a Category 1 Hurricane with estimated maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. The system was downgraded to a tropical storm shortly thereafter and emerged into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Canaveral. Ian's slow movement and large wind field led to a long period of tropical storm force winds across all of east central Florida, as well as hurricane force gusts in squalls and historic rainfall and flooding across parts of the area. Widespread rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches were reported throughout the area, with a corridor of 10 to 20 inches across Osceola, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and northern Brevard counties. The maximum observed rainfall total was 21.09 inches in Spruce Creek, Volusia County. The St. Johns River experienced historic rises with record crests set at Astor, Deland, Sanford, and Lake Harney in the days and weeks following Ian's heavy rainfall. A tornado briefly touched down and crossed US-192 in rural Brevard County with no damage to structures reported. Persistent onshore flow before and during the storm led to water level rises (storm surge) of 1-3 feet along the east central Florida, bringing moderate to severe beach erosion, with the most significant effects noted in Volusia County. Collectively, the effects of Hurricane Ian led to 15 storm-related fatalities (6 direct and 9 indirect) and between $800-900M in property damage across east central Florida.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1058205. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.