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Hurricane Ivan (2004)

Hurricane Ivan was a Category 5 hurricane at its peak, with 167 mph winds and a lowest pressure of 910 mb, per NOAA's National Hurricane Center. Modeled winds reached tropical-storm force (39 mph) at 7 of the cities we track; the strongest was Daphne, AL, with a modeled peak gust of 121 mph.

Peak strength167 mph winds (1-minute)
Category 5
Cities with tropical-storm-force windsModeled, of the cities we track
7
LandfallsFirst September 16, 2004
2
Lowest pressure
910 mb

Track, wind field and cities

Select a piece of the track or a city for details.

  • Depression or weaker
  • Tropical storm
  • Hurricane, Category 1 or 2
  • Major hurricane, Category 3 to 5
  • Landfall
  • City (larger ring, stronger modeled gust)
  • Modeled wind field, 39 to 111 mph sustained (darker, stronger; orange 111 mph+)
Source: NOAA/NWS National Hurricane Center best track (HURDAT2). City winds and the wind field are modeled.

The shaded areas are where our model puts Hurricane Ivan’s sustained winds over open land at 39 mph or more (tropical-storm force), 58, 74 (hurricane force) and 111 mph (major hurricane force) at some point along its track. Modeled, not measured. How we model hurricane winds

Landfalls

  1. September 16, 2004, Category 3 at 121 mph, about 29 miles from Daphne, AL
  2. September 24, 2004, tropical depression at 35 mph, 29.8°N, 93.6°W

Modeled winds at cities (7)

Estimated peak winds for open, flat ground at each city’s center. Not measurements. How we model hurricane winds

CityPeak gustSustainedClosest passPeak
Daphne, AL121 mph98 mph3 milesSep 16, 2004, 1:45 AM CDT
Mobile, AL113 mph92 mph17 milesSep 16, 2004, 2:20 AM CDT
Pensacola, FL108 mph88 mph39 milesSep 16, 2004, 2:45 AM EDT
Crestview, FL81 mph66 mph72 milesSep 16, 2004, 2:45 AM EDT
Gulfport, MS72 mph58 mph71 milesSep 16, 2004, 1:45 AM CDT
New Orleans, LA50 mph40 mph120 milesSep 15, 2004, 7:00 PM CDT
Slidell, LA49 mph40 mph113 milesSep 15, 2004, 7:00 PM CDT

What happened

Ivan crossed the Caribbean and the Gulf and made landfall just west of Gulf Shores, Alabama, at about 1:50 a.m. CDT on September 16, 2004, as a Category 3 hurricane with 105-knot (121 mph) winds.1,2 NHC says the narrow band of strongest winds likely fell over Perdido Key and Perdido Bay, at the Alabama and Florida line.1

Storm surge of 10 to 15 feet hit the coast from Destin, Florida, west to Mobile Bay, with 6 to 9 feet from Destin east to St. Marks.1,2 Pensacola Naval Air Station recorded a 93-knot (107 mph) gust, the highest official wind report.1 Waves on top of the surge dropped up to a quarter mile of the Interstate 10 bridge into Pensacola Bay.1 Beach erosion damaged or destroyed many beachfront homes, apartment buildings and condominiums, and some buildings collapsed when waves scoured the sand from under their foundations.1 Thousands of homes in Baldwin, Escambia and Santa Rosa counties were damaged or destroyed, and NHC says Perdido Key was essentially leveled.1 Inland, NWS Mobile estimates 80 to 100 mph winds near the center caused major tree and structural damage in Escambia, Conecuh, Monroe and Wilcox counties of Alabama.2

Ivan produced 117 tornadoes in the United States over three days, and on September 15 tornadoes near Panama City Beach, Blountstown and Panama City killed 7 people.1 NHC counts 25 direct deaths in the United States, 14 of them in Florida, and puts U.S. damage at $18.82 billion.1

Sources

  1. 1. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Ivan, 2 to 24 September 2004
  2. 2. NWS Mobile/Pensacola: Hurricane Ivan, September 16, 2004

Best track (94 positions)

TimeStatusWindPressurePosition
Sep 2, 18:00 UTCTropical depression29 mph1009 mb9.7°N, 27.6°W
Sep 3, 00:00 UTCTropical depression35 mph1007 mb9.7°N, 28.7°W
Sep 3, 06:00 UTCTropical storm40 mph1005 mb9.7°N, 30.3°W
Sep 3, 12:00 UTCTropical storm46 mph1003 mb9.5°N, 32.1°W
Sep 3, 18:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph1000 mb9.3°N, 33.6°W
Sep 4, 00:00 UTCTropical storm52 mph999 mb9.1°N, 35.0°W
Sep 4, 06:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph997 mb8.9°N, 36.5°W
Sep 4, 12:00 UTCTropical storm58 mph997 mb8.9°N, 38.2°W
Sep 4, 18:00 UTCTropical storm63 mph994 mb9.0°N, 39.9°W
Sep 5, 00:00 UTCTropical storm69 mph991 mb9.3°N, 41.4°W
Sep 5, 06:00 UTCCategory 1 hurricane75 mph987 mb9.5°N, 43.4°W
Sep 5, 12:00 UTCCategory 2 hurricane98 mph977 mb9.8°N, 45.1°W
Show all 94