For those of you who have lived in Louisville since 2008 you may remember a very memorable weather event that occurred exactly 17 years ago today. If you're thinking of Hurricane Ike, then you would be correct.

17 years ago today back in 2008 the remnants of Hurricane Ike moved into the area and wreaked havoc on the entire community in multiple ways. Ike was the fifth hurricane and the third major hurricane of the 2008 season. Ike reached peak intensity over the open waters of the Central Atlantic as a Category 4 hurricane, but made landfall close to Galveston, TX as a Category 2 hurricane. 

Bolivar Peninsula after Ike. Credit: NWS

After making landfall in Texas, Ike continued to track off to the North and Northeast. September 14th, 2008 is when the impacts were felt here in our area. 

The remnants of Ike arrived in Louisville and packed a major punch when it came to the intensity of the wind gusts. Sunshine prior to Ike allowed the atmosphere to mix up and produce some seriously high wind gusts across Kentucky and here in Louisville as well. The fastest wind gust recorded in Louisville was an astounding 75 mph at the Louisville Airport while the fastest wind gust was 81mph from Washington County Indiana. The Louisville Airport was shut down and a state of emergency was declared.

Wind Gust Map. Credit: NWS-Louisville

These wind gusts did a LOT of damage across the area. Here's a few pictures across the area from the National Weather Service in Louisville. 

Capitol Avenue, Corydon, Indiana. Credit: NWS Louisville

Baxter Avenue, Louisville. Credit: NWS Louisville

Power Outages

Another thing you may remember and were probably affected by with the remnants of Ike was the insane amount of power outages it caused across the area. Due to the high winds, thousands of power lines were torn down and Louisville saw its worst blackout in at least 30 years. In the Louisville area alone, over 300,000 customers lost power, the worst power outage to date in LG&E history. Throughout the entire state, over 600,000 people were without power. For some, the power didn't come back on for over a week. 

The remnants of Ike 17 years ago today is still one of the most memorable weather events to happen in our area.