Florida

Where Ian Ranks Among Strongest Hurricanes in History to Hit Florida

The strongest hurricane to hit Florida was the Labor Day hurricane in 1935, which had winds of 180 mph when it struck the Florida Keys

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With winds at 150 miles per hour at landfall along Florida's southwest coast, Hurricane Ian will go down as one of the strongest storms to ever hit the state.

Ian turned streets into rivers and blew down trees at landfall in Cayo Costa, a barrier island just west of heavily populated Fort Myers, tying it for the fourth-strongest hurricane ever to strike Florida.

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Hurricane Charley in 2004, which made landfall in nearly the exact same spot, and the 1919 hurricane in the Florida Keys also had winds of 150 mph at landfall.

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Hurricane Michael had winds of 160 mph when it struck in Florida's panhandle in Mexico Beach.

Hurricane Andrew had winds of 165 mph when it struck southern Miami-Dade County in 1992.

A total of 44 people lost their lives in Florida that day. Some 82,000 businesses and 150,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, as Andrew's devastation left losses valued at over $25 billion.

An estimated 250,000 people were left homeless by the hurricane, and about 100,000 residents left South Florida.

The strongest hurricane to hit Florida was the Labor Day hurricane in 1935, which had winds of 180 mph when it struck the Florida Keys.

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