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Storm history of Hurricane Ivan
2004 hurricane / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The storm history of Hurricane Ivan, the longest tracked tropical cyclone of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, lasted from late August through late September. The hurricane developed from a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa on August 31. Moving westward from the effects of a ridge, favorable conditions allowed it to develop into Tropical Depression Nine on September 2 in the deep tropical Atlantic Ocean. The cyclone slowly intensified until September 5, when it underwent rapid deepening and reached Category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale; at the time Ivan was the southernmost major hurricane on record.
![]() | It has been suggested that this article be merged with Hurricane Ivan. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2024. |
Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS) | |
![]() The path of Hurricane Ivan | |
Formed | September 2, 2004 |
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Dissipated | September 24, 2004 |
Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 165 mph (270 km/h) |
Lowest pressure | 910 mbar (hPa); 26.87 inHg |
Areas affected | Windward Islands (especially Grenada), Venezuela, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cuba, Alabama, Florida, and most of the eastern United States, (after rebirth) Texas, Louisiana |
Part of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Ivan quickly weakened because of dry air, but it slowly reorganized itself, passing just south of Grenada as a major hurricane on September 7. The hurricane strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane while in the central Caribbean Sea. Over next the days its intensity changed largely due to eyewall replacement cycles, and Ivan passed just south of Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and western Cuba with winds at or slightly below Category 5 status. Turning northward and encountering unfavorable conditions, Ivan slowly weakened before making landfall just west of Gulf Shores, Alabama, on September 16 with winds of 120 mph (195 km/h). The cyclone quickly weakened to tropical depression status as it turned to the northeast, and Ivan transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on September 18.
The remnant low of Ivan turned to the south and southwest, and after crossing Florida on September 21 it began to regain tropical characteristics. It became a tropical depression again on September 22 to the southeast of Louisiana, and Ivan reached winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) before weakening and moving ashore along southwestern Louisiana as a tropical depression; the circulation of Ivan dissipated after crossing into Texas on September 25. The cyclone broke several intensity records, and its duration was the tenth longest on record for an Atlantic hurricane.