Hurricane Charley would fit inside of Ian’s eye as ‘catastrophic’ Cat 4 ravages Florida
Hurricane Ian is a massive storm.
With landfall still hours away, the near-Category 5 hurricane was is already “causing catastrophic storm surge, winds and flooding” in southwest Florida early Wednesday afternoon, the Miami Herald reported.
While storm surge is the most immediate threat, Hurricane Ian will sit over most of the Sunshine State for Days, inundating Florida with winds and heavy rains.
Hurricane Ian is monstrous in size — and is twice as wide as the Florida peninsula.
And it’s eye is no different.
In comparison, the entirety of Hurricane Charley could fit inside of Ian’s eye and eye wall — and there would still be room to spare, said Stu Ostro, senior meteorologist for the Weather Channel.
Ostro tweeted an image of Charley imposed over Ian and it’s going viral.
Charley was incredibly small in size. It’s hurricane-force winds extended just 10 miles, so people a few towns over from where it made landfall saw few, if any, impacts and little damage.
Hurricane Ian, by comparison, has an eye that is currently 40 miles wide and hurricane force winds that extend another 100 miles beyond that. The storm itself spans about 500 miles.
Why is the size of the eye important?
The average diameter of a hurricane’s eye is 20 to 40 miles, according to the National Weather Service.
Eyes start to form when winds reach 74 mph, or Category 1 status. The stronger the winds, the smaller the eye.
The NWS compared this correlation to figure skaters, “The closer they hold their hands to the body, the faster they spin. Conversely, the farther the hands are from the body the slower they spin.” In a hurricane, as the air moves toward the center, the speed must increase.
The eyewall has the strongest winds in a hurricane. If the eye is large, the damage will cover a wider area, but not be as severe (have winds as strong) as a hurricane with a small eyewall.
Ian is expected to make landfall on the southwest coast of Florida, just west of Ft. Myers, as a Category 4 hurricane. Maximum sustained winds were 155 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 2 p.m. update. Gusts around Ian’s eyewall Wednesday morning reached 178 mph.
NWS meteorologist Eric Blake warned against downplaying its severity.
“Residents should heed the advice of local emergency management officials,” Blake said. “Ian is expected to make landfall in southwestern Florida in the next few hours as a catastrophic hurricane.”
Miami Herald reporter Alex Harris and Sun News reporter Chase Karacostas contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 28, 2022 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Hurricane Charley would fit inside of Ian’s eye as ‘catastrophic’ Cat 4 ravages Florida."
