Ida: Exclamation point on record onslaught of US landfalls

By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer

Hurricane Ida tied for fifth strongest storm to hit the United States based on wind speed, but the whopper of a hurricane is far more than that. It’s an exclamation point on a recent record onslaught of 17 storms to hit the United States in the last two years. It’s the sixth storm to hit this year. And it’s the first time in 150 years that a state has been hit by two hurricanes with 150 mph winds in two years. Laura hit Louisiana last year. Ida is also one of the most rapidly intensifying storm in hurricane history.