Hurricane Ike

Not to be confused with Hurricane Ioke. This article is about the 2008 Atlantic hurricane. For other storms of the same name, see List of storms named Ike.

Hurricane Ike
Ike near peak intensity, northeast of the Leeward Islands on September 4
Meteorological history
FormedSeptember 1, 2008 (2008-09-01)
ExtratropicalSeptember 14, 2008 (2008-09-14)
DissipatedSeptember 15, 2008 (2008-09-15)
Category 4 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds145 mph (230 km/h)
Lowest pressure935 mbar (hPa); 27.61 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities214
Damage$38 billion (2008 USD)
(Tenth-costliest tropical cyclone on record)
Areas affected
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata
Part of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Ike (/aɪk/) was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a similar track to the 1900 Galveston hurricane. The ninth tropical storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Ike developed from a tropical wave west of Cape Verde on September 1[nb 1] and strengthened to a peak intensity as a Category 4 hurricane over the open waters of the central Atlantic on September 4 as it tracked westward. Several fluctuations in strength occurred before Ike made landfall on eastern Cuba on September 8. The hurricane weakened prior to continuing into the Gulf of Mexico, but increased its intensity by the time of its final landfall in Galveston, Texas, on September 13 before becoming an extratropical storm on September 14. The remnants of Ike continued to track across the United States and into Canada, causing considerable damage inland, before dissipating on the next day.[1]

Ike was blamed for at least 195 deaths. Of these deaths, 74 were in Haiti, which was already trying to recover from the impact of three storms (Fay, Gustav, and Hanna) that had made landfall the same year. Seven people were killed in Cuba.[2] In the United States, 113 people were reported killed, directly or indirectly, and 16 were still missing as of August 2011.[1] Due to its immense size, Ike caused devastation from the Louisiana coastline all the way to the Kenedy County region near Corpus Christi, Texas.[3] In addition, Ike caused flooding and significant damage along the Mississippi coastline and the Florida Panhandle.[4] Damages from Ike in U.S. coastal and inland areas are estimated at $30 billion (2008 USD), with additional damage of $7.3 billion in Cuba, $200 million in the Bahamas, and $500 million in the Turks and Caicos, amounting to a total of at least $38 billion in damage. At the time, the hurricane was the second-costliest in United States history.[5] The search-and-rescue operation after Ike was the largest search-and-rescue operation in Texas history.[6]


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  1. ^ a b Berg, Robbie; National Hurricane Center (March 18, 2014). Hurricane Ike: November 5 - 9, 2008 (PDF) (Tropical Cyclone Report). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference USATodayCuba was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Evacuation and Devastation in Southern Texas". Boston.com. September 14, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  4. ^ "Flooding in Miss. and FL". Usatoday.com. September 11, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  5. ^ Costliest U.S. tropical cyclones tables updated (PDF) (Report). National Hurricane Center. January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  6. ^ "Texas goes on 'largest search-and-rescue operation' after Ike". NewsOK. Associated Press. September 14, 2008. Retrieved October 23, 2018.