Hurricanes? (Jacksonville: tornado, to live, garden)

[jennkarma]

As I'm researching my move down south for much relief from the cold climate up in NJ during the winters, I can't help worry about a Hurricane threat and want to move someplace that isn't in a danger zone. That's why I was considering north Florida over south Florida. But I'm still not really familiar and the internet searches are only turning up bits and pieces of information. I'd love to hear from people who really know...Is the Jacksonville area in a danger zone as far as Hurricanes go? Of course, these days with Global Warming and natural disasters there is no guarantee, but better safe than sorry, right?

[travelingfood]

This was talked about in some older threads (use search function), but something about Jacksonville's location makes it less prone to direct hurricane hits. Happened only once or twice? And you're usually ok if you choose to live more in-land. We had a couple rare tornandoes and water sprouts though.

[fsu813]

Jax lays on a slight indentation on the coast line, which provides a buffer.

No direct hit of a Hurricane since Rita.....waaaaaay back. In the 50's I think.

[jennkarma]

tornados and water sprouts? eesh. what's a water sprout?

[joninclay]

Water spout, not "sprout". It's simply a tornado that goes over water (ocean, river, etc.), and they're not usually as strong as their landlubbing counterparts.

As for hurricanes: We've had three tropical storms/hurricanes in about the last four decades. We had two back in 2004, and we had one last year (or was it 2008? Still hard for me to grasp that this is 2010!), and that's been it. Damage was minimal.

[jennkarma]

That doesn't sound too bad. Thank you very much for your input. Greatly appreciated!!!

[jondoe297]

Originally Posted by fsu813

Jax lays on a slight indentation on the coast line, which provides a buffer.

No direct hit of a Hurricane since Rita.....waaaaaay back. In the 50's I think.

Dora. 1964.

The shape of the coastline doesn't have as much to do with Jacksonville's "Hurricane Luck" as upper level wind patterns do. During the mid to late summer (and into fall), high pressure tends to form over the southeast US, extending down into North Florida. These systems steer tropical cyclones (generally speaking) westerly, into the Gulf of Mexico (frequently through south Florida), and or east, out into the Atlantic (your garden variety Outer Banks, NC storm).
If you count all Tropical Cyclones (Depressions and Tropical Storms, in addition to bona-fide Hurricanes), Jacksonville averages one hit approximately every 3.05 years.

[travelingfood]

Originally Posted by joninclay

Water spout, not "sprout". It's simply a tornado that goes over water (ocean, river, etc.), and they're not usually as strong as their landlubbing counterparts.

Sprout spout tomato tomatoe I was hungry!

[jennkarma]

Originally Posted by jondoe297

Dora. 1964.

The shape of the coastline doesn't have as much to do with Jacksonville's "Hurricane Luck" as upper level wind patterns do. During the mid to late summer (and into fall), high pressure tends to form over the southeast US, extending down into North Florida. These systems steer tropical cyclones (generally speaking) westerly, into the Gulf of Mexico (frequently through south Florida), and or east, out into the Atlantic (your garden variety Outer Banks, NC storm).
If you count all Tropical Cyclones (Depressions and Tropical Storms, in addition to bona-fide Hurricanes), Jacksonville averages one hit approximately every 3.05 years.

This is very informative. How severe have the hits been? When I think Hurricanes now, I think of Katrina. Is this something to be concerned about?

[EricBoyd]

Here's the evacuation zone map offered by the City, which may give you some indication of the potential impact of different category storms: Evacuation Zones Map