The 2017 hurricane season was a record-setter when it came to the devastation caused here in the United States. Let's take a moment to look back at what 2017 brought us.
There were 17 named storms. Of those, six were major hurricanes, with three of them hitting U.S. soil: Harvey, Irma and Maria.
Damage estimates for those storms ranging from $300 billion to $475 billion. And NOAA estimates that $50 billion of that came from Irma, most of it here in Florida.
Hurricane Irma was massive, spanning more than 400 miles wide with wind speeds reaching 185 miles an hour. It set the record for the longest any cyclone has maintained that intensity.
It was a Category 5 storm as it barreled through the Caribbean as one of the most powerful hurricanes on record. Irma tore through the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm, then they eye came on shore as a Category 3 in Marco Island.
Irma then moved north, hammering coastal and inland communities here in Southwest Florida.
According to a report by the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Irma killed 129 people. 44 of those deaths were directly caused by the storm, while 85 were indirect deaths, such as falls during storm preparations, car crashes, electrocutions, carbon monoxide poisoning and chainsaw accidents.
Also included in the total were the 14 people who died at a Broward County nursing home that rose to deadly temperatures after the power went out and generators failed.
