2008 Atlantic hurricane season
Damage from Ike is guessed at $31.5 billion (2008 USD), the third most damaging hurricane in U.S. history, behind Katrina in 2005 and Andrew in 1992. At least 166 deaths have been blamed on Ike, of which 82 were in the United States. It was the most damaging hurricane in Texas history. Ike was an extremely big and strong storm. At one point, the diameter of Ike's tropical storm and hurricane-force winds were 550 and 240 miles (885 and 390 km) making Ike one of the biggest Atlantic hurricane recorded. Ike also had the second highest IKE (Integrated Kinetic Energy) of any Atlantic storm in the past 40 years. Integrated Kinetic Energy is a measure of storm surge damaging potential, similar to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, though the IKE is more complex and in many ways more accurate. On a scale that ranges from 1 to 6, with 6 being highest destructive potential, Ike earned a 5.2.