Hurricane Irene (20-29 August 2011)
(Gabi Laske)
Hurricane Irene was the 9th named storm in the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season and the first hurricane. Irene was a relatively weak hurricane. At its peak early on 24 August, when its eye was 230 km northeast of Hispaniola, it reached maximum sustained wind speeds of 194 km/h (121 mph), and its central low air pressure was 957 mbar making Irene a category 3 hurricane. It then traveled north along the east coast of North America to make landfall in North Carolina early on 27 August as a category 1 hurricane (maximum sustained wind speeds of 130 km/h and central low air pressure at 952 mbar).
NOAA Google Earth file
Death Toll
Numbers on Wikipedia (as of 20 September 2011):
- total: 55 deaths and 8 missing (mostly U.S.)
- Puerto Rico: 1
- Dominican Republic: 4 (7 missing)
- Haiti: 3
- U.S.: 46; 1 missing
- Canada: 1
Damages