Hurricane Ian Disaster Relief

In early August 2020, Hurricane Isaias made landfall in the Bahamas as a Category 1 Hurricane and all Floridians were glued to social media and weather news outlets in anticipation that they were the next to be impacted by the powerful storm. Unlike Hurricane Ian, Florida was spared as Isaias only brushed the coast and headed for North Carolina with strong winds, a storm surge, and tornadoes. Storm damage estimates exceeded $4.8 billion, with $3.5 billion in damage occurring in the Northeastern United States, making Isaias the costliest tropical cyclone to strike the region since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

After the storm had passed, long-time friends Nate Fincher and Chris Johnson decided to get their families together for an evening pizza party by the pool. During their time together, Nate shared an idea he had for a mobile app where people could make and track their own weather forecast predictions. In times of severe weather, the platform could increase awareness for storm preparation and even be a conduit for disaster relief donations. Tons of ideas were shared that night, and in the end, Chris and Nate concluded the possibilities were endless. It was at that moment Weather Champs was born.

Hurricane Ian

Today, September 28th, 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall on the West coast of Florida as a Category 4 Hurricane with sustained winds of 155mph. It is forecasted to move across the state for the next 24 hours and exit into the Atlantic Ocean as a tropical storm. It is still too early to tell the full extent of its impact, but we anticipate Hurricane Ian will devastate many areas of the state and cause significant damage.

In particular, the greater Daytona Beach, FL area (our hometown) is expected to be impacted by strong winds, tornados and extremely heavy rainfall. To give you a comparison, on May 20, 2009, Daytona Beach, FL (deep purple on the map) had 6.37 inches of rain (Source). This is the city's highest recorded amount of rainfall on a given day in recent history. Forecasts predict the greater Daytona Beach Area might see as much as 15" - 20" of rain during #HurricaneIan. So, we are starting this campaign to help the residents of Eastern Volusia County who may be impacted by Hurricane Ian.