Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane, and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Ivan formed in early September and reached Category 5 strength on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale (SSHS). Ivan caused catastrophic damage in Grenada as a strong Category 3 storm, heavy damage in Jamaica as a strong Category 4 storm, and then severe damage in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and the western tip of Cuba as a Category 5 hurricane. After peaking in strength, the hurricane moved north-northwest across the Gulf of Mexico to strike Pensacola/Milton, Florida and Alabama as a strong Category 3 storm, causing significant damage. Ivan dropped heavy rain on the Southeastern United States as it progressed northeastward and eastward through the Eastern United States, becoming an extratropical cyclone on September 18. The remnant low of the storm moved into the western subtropical Atlantic and regenerated into a tropical cyclone on September 22, which then moved across Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, and then into Louisiana and Texas, causing minimal damage. Ivan degenerated into a remnant low on September 24, before dissipating on the next day. Ivan caused an estimated US$26.1 billion (equivalent to $44 billion in 2025) in damage along its path, of which $20.5 billion occurred in the United States.
Meteorological history
The origins of Ivan were from a tropical wave, which developed into a tropical depression on September 2 to the southwest of Cape Verde. It moved westward and strengthened into Tropical Storm Ivan on September 3, the ninth named storm of the season by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Two days later, Ivan reached hurricane strength while moving at a low latitude across the Atlantic Ocean, the sixth hurricane of the season. It intensified rapidly, becoming a major hurricane late on September 5, the fourth of the season. Ivan reached Category 4 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale at 00:00 UTC on September 6, but rapidly weakened due to dry air. On September 7, Ivan restrengthened and passed just north of Grenada with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h). After entering the Caribbean Sea, Ivan strengthened further and became a Category 5 hurricane on September 9, just north of the Netherlands Antilles. Two days later, the hurricane passed 23 mi (37 km) south of Jamaica. It fluctuated between Category 4 and 5 intensity in the Caribbean, reaching peak winds of 165 mph (265 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 910 millibars (27 inHg). The hurricane passed within 30 miles (50 km) of Grand Cayman on September 12, and two days later passed 17 mi (28 km) west of the westernmost tip of Cuba. Once over the Gulf of Mexico, Ivan weakened slightly as it turned to the north toward the Gulf Coast of the United States. At 06:50 UTC on September 16, Ivan made landfall at Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 3 hurricane, with sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h). It weakened quickly over land, falling to tropical depression status over Alabama, and becoming an extratropical cyclone over Virginia on September 18. The remnant low of Ivan drifted off the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast into the Atlantic Ocean, turning southward and moving across Florida. It redeveloped into a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico on September 22, and became a tropical storm with a secondary peak of 60 mph (95 km/h). Ivan weakened before making landfall late on September 23 near Cameron, Louisiana as a tropical depression. It dissipated on September 24.
Records On September 3, Ivan became the southernmost Atlantic hurricane at 9.5° N. Later that day, it became the southernmost major hurricane in the Atlantic at 10.2° N. Ivan was also the southernmost Category 5 hurricane at the time in the Atlantic, at 13.7° N, until it was surpassed by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Ivan's duration as a Category 4 hurricane or stronger was longer than any other tropical cyclone on record, with a total of 198 hours. It was surpassed by Hurricane Ioke in 2006, which held the intensity for 216 hours. When Ivan was in the Gulf of Mexico on September 15, a tide gauge recorded a wave height of 91 ft (27.7 m). Because the gauge likely did not record the highest wave, researchers estimated that waves could have reached a height of 130 ft (40 m). It was the largest significant wave height in United States territorial waters, surpassing an observation in the Gulf of Alaska in January 1991. The hurricane also produced the fastest seafloor current, at 2.25 metres per second (5.0 mph; 8.1 km/h). After hitting the United States, Ivan produced the largest tornado outbreak associated with a tropical cyclone, with at least 118 confirmed twisters.
Preparations
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