ATLANTA — Exactly one year ago today, “Irma” was named off the coast of Africa.
Irma took its time tracking across the Atlantic Ocean before making seven landfalls.
It eventually hit Florida on Sept. 10, 2017, then moved north into Georgia and Alabama one day later.
COVERAGE
As Hurricane Irma moved toward the United States and eventually up into Georgia, Severe Weather Team 2 kept you safe and informed with up-to-the-minute updates and LIVE reports -- on Channel 2 Action News, WSBTV.com and the official WSB-TV Facebook page.
Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brian Monahan traveled to some of the hardest-hit areas in Florida for several days of LIVE coverage.
Channel 2 Action News also deployed reporters and meteorologists throughout Georgia to bring viewers coverage and updates from across the state.
DAMAGE
Irma hit the Florida Keys on Sept. 10 as a Category 4 storm, destroying 1,200 homes and damaging 3,000 more.
The storm was a Category 3 when it reached the mainland near Naples. It weakened but did significant damage as far north as Jacksonville.
By the morning of Sept. 11, then-Tropical Storm Irma moved into Georgia with at least tropical storm force wind gusts (39+mph).
These high winds lasted for several hours across most of the state, resulting in thousands of downed trees. An estimated 1.5 million customers in Georgia lost power.
Irma made a total of seven landfalls. Damage estimates throughout the Caribbean could top $3 billion, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The damage left the small island of Barbuda nearly uninhabitable, destroying most schools and severely damaging the only hospital on the island of Anguilla.
Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to hit Cuba in nearly a century, directly causing nine deaths, damaging tens of thousands of homes and destroying hundreds of poultry farms.
DEADLY IMPACT
In Florida, two people died when their tent became submerged in freshwater flooding, one man fell in a canal while checking on his boat during the hurricane and a gust of wind caused one man to fall and hit his head after opening his front door during the storm.
Falling trees were blamed for two deaths in Georgia and one in South Carolina.
Cox Media Group
