How strong were Ian's wind gusts in Orlando and across Central Florida?

Tracking the Tropics: Oct. 3, 2022

We are tracking two tropical disturbances. One has formed off the coast of Africa and the other is heading toward the Caribbean Sea. Most of the models show the system tracking west and impacting Central America but a few show it tracking across Hispaniola, so we will keep an eye on this one.

LAKE MARY, Fla. - Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the U.S., swamped Southwest Florida last week, turning streets into rivers, knocking out power to 2 million people, and threatening catastrophic damage further inland.

The Category 4 storm slammed the coast with 150 mph (241 kph) winds and pushed a wall of storm surge accumulated during its slow march over the Gulf. More than 2 million Florida homes and businesses were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us. Nearly every home and business in three counties were without power.

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Ian’s strength at landfall tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane when measured by wind speed to strike the U.S. Among the other storms was Hurricane Charley, which hit nearly the same spot on Florida’s coast in August 2004, killing 10 people and inflicting $14 billion in damage.

Ian weakened into a strong tropical storm by the time it made it to the Orlando area, but Central Florida still experienced hurricane-force wind gusts. The highest observed wind gust in Central Florida from Tropical Storm Ian was recorded in New Smyrna Beach at 96 mph.

"Ian's high winds brought down countless limbs, trees, and power lines, leading to outages for days on end in some communities," said FOX 35 Meteorologist Brooks Garner. "However, when compared to the flooding impacts from Ian's heavy rain and the record-high river and lake levels resulting, this hurricane in Central Florida won't be remembered for its wind, but for its high water."

Below is a sampling from a list of the highest reported wind gusts in Central Florida during Ian, as verified by the National Weather Service:

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