Hurricane Irene was the ninth named storm and the sixth hurricane of the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Irene developed in the Carribean Sea south of Cuba. It made landfall in western Cuba as a tropical storm, then struck near Key West, Florida as a Category 1 hurricane. After landfall, Irene headed northeast and recurved out to sea, after brushing the Carolinas. Irene peaked as a 110 mph Category 2 hurricane with a pressure of 958 mb, just shy of Category 3 status. Irene produced heavy rainfall over Cuba, causing four deaths, as well as some damage. Irene was a wet October hurricane for Florida, similar to many of the hurricanes from the 1930s and 1940s. Irene produced 10-20 inches of rainfall in the Miami Metropolitan Area, producing urban flooding unseen since Hurricane Dennis in 1981.