Hurricane Ivan. The eye of Hurricane Ivan, as Ivan was passing over the western peninsula of Cuba (not seen), on 13th September 2004. Hurricanes are enormous rotating storm systems in which winds can reach over 240 kilometres per hour. However, the eye of a hurricane is a calm, cloud-free area of between 32 and 64 kilometres across. At the time this image was taken, Ivan was classified as a category 5 hurricane, the most severe rating. It caused winds of 260 kilometres per hour. Image taken from the International Space Station (ISS) at an altitude of 370 kilometres.