User:CooperScience/sandbox

Hurricane Ike was a large and powerful tropical cyclone that caused widespread destruction in the Caribbean and Texas. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the active 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Ike was the second-costliest hurricane in the United States at the time, although it has since been surpassed by multiple storms and now ranks as the sixth costliest. A Cape Verde-type hurricane, Ike formed from a strong tropical wave west of Cape Verde on September 1. Initially, Ike strengthened slowly due to the presence of dry air to its south and only marginally warm sea surface temperatures. On September 3, Ike began to strengthen at a faster rate, and was upgraded to a hurricane the same day. With virtually no wind shear to inhibit development, Ike explosively intensified, becoming a major hurricane just six hours after first being classified as a hurricane. At 06:00 UTC on September 4, Ike reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 km/h).