Hurricane Ian briefly attained Category 5 intensity off Floridas Gulf Coast NHC says

ORLANDO, Fla. – Hurricane Ian was upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane, six months after it struck Southwest Florida with a high storm surge and up to 20 feet of rain for our region. This was announced on Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s final report on Ian. In their reanalysis and conclusions, officials determined the damage was consistent with a system producing winds of at least 157 mph, instead of its previously-classified Category 4 status, where winds could go no higher than 156 mph. In fact, at the storm’s peak, hurricane hunters had originally clocked winds to…