Effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida
Irma was the first major hurricane to strike the state since Wilma in 2005 and the first Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Charley in 2004. The storm made landfall in Florida on the same date as Hurricane Donna, the last Category 4 hurricane to strike the Florida Keys. Irma was only the second hurricane to hit Florida since Wilma, the other being Hermine in 2016. Due to few very intense hurricanes since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, there was concern that many Floridians never experienced or did not recall experiencing a hurricane as strong as Irma was projected to be at landfall, with significant growth in population and assets during the previous 25 years.
1863 Atlantic hurricane season
Although it is not officially listed in HURDAT, Hurricane Amanda, named after a ship run aground by the storm, developed in the Gulf of Mexico on May 24. First documented in 2013 by Michael Chenoweth and Cary Mock, the system capsized several other ships and caused damage along the coast of the Florida Panhandle. The cyclone made landfall near Apalachicola, Florida exceptionally early in the season, on May 28. Amanda holds the distinction of being the only known hurricane landfall in the United States in the month of May since HURDAT records began in 1851. On land and at sea, the cyclone left at least 110 fatalities. Few other storms were notable. In August, the third official storm capsized the American brig "Bainbridge" off Hatteras, North Carolina, drowning 80 people. The seventh official cyclone caused 10 deaths near Tampico, Tamaulipas, after the ship "J.K.L." sunk.