How can hurricane Ian go from hurricane, to tropical storm, and now back to hurricane?

Question

How can hurricane Ian go from hurricane, to tropical storm, and now back to hurricane?

In: 10

Answer 1

Hurrricanes/tropical storms/tropical depressions get those names based on how fast the wind is blowing. Out in the water, Ian could go fast and so its speeds were high enough to be called a hurricane. Over land, it slowed down so its speeds were only fast enough to be called a tropical storm. Once it got back over water, it sped up again and met the wind speed requirements to be called a hurricane again.