[annerk]

Originally Posted by tilli

Hurricane Charley in '04 proved that even being inland is no guarantee against hurricanes. Orlando took a lot of damage from that storm, but it actually made landfall on the west coast near Port Charlotte and traveled quite a distance over land before it ever made it to Orlando. If you live anywhere in Florida, you should be prepared for the possibility of hurricane and never delude yourself that your little area of the state is immune.

This is true. Although I live in an area that hasn't seen significant damage from hurricanes, I'm still prepared with storm shutters, a roof built to the latest codes, a generator, etc. You just never know.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by FlyersFan

Ocala/Gainesville area seems pretty removed form this type of weather related natural disaster concern ?

Ocala seems to be somewhat prone to tornadic activity.

[beachmouse]

Did Jax see a lot of flooding from Tropical Storm Fay a couple years back, or was that mostly to the south of there?

[CrowGirl]

Originally Posted by niceguy19125

Jacksonville and St Augustine are probably the best answer for you in terms of overall safety. Neither has suffered a direct hit and they mostly deal with occasional crossover storms (storms crossing from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean) at the fringe. The flow of the "gulfstream" (the major ocean current that flows parallel to the coast up the east coast of the US) swings east just south of the two cities, so typically storms that make it that far up the coast continue on northward and make landfall far to the north.

This made me think of what everyone told me when I moved to the Treasure Coast.....no major storm in as long as anyone can remember, the Bahamas break up the storms, etc. Then came Frances, Jeanne, WIlma......

[DanBev]

We live in Lake City,North Florida.The closest a hurricane has come to this area was around 1964,it brushed the area along the GA,FL border,flooded Live Oak.In the middle empty area along border on Dumbest Question map.

[housingcrashsurvivor]

Originally Posted by niceguy19125

Jacksonville and St Augustine are probably the best answer for you in terms of overall safety. Neither has suffered a direct hit ... The flow of the "gulfstream" (the major ocean current that flows parallel to the coast up the east coast of the US) swings east just south of the two cities, so typically storms that make it that far up the coast continue on northward and make landfall far to the north.

That they haven't been hit might just mean that they're due.

Last I checked, hurricanes do not navigate by ocean charts, nor do they read street maps, as I've seen others elsewhere suggesting that Jax doesn't get hit because Florida curves inland there.

Hurricanes are steered by atmospheric conditions, not by land or sea features which might effect a storm's strength (huge mountains weaken, warm waters strengthen, etc.) but not its direction.

[Avalon08]

I found a site once (but can't find it now) that showed where hurricanes hit the U.S. throughout history. I was trying to find out whether my mother's hometown in FL was vulnerable, or whether there were particular areas in FL that were in the path more often. What I found was that nothing in FL was immune -- the landfall points were all over the FL map (plus every other state up the East coast).

[seeriously]

If you move inland to avoid the brunt of hurricanes you'll find yourself vulnerable to tornadoes.

[gypsychic]

Some hurricanes can be MUCH LARGER than the entire state, in which case there would be no area untouched.

I can't believe people constantly come here and ask this same question, FOLKS, THERE IS NO PLACE IN FLORIDA THAT IS FREE FROM HURRICANE RISK! All of us who live here know this, and try to prepare accordingly. If the thought of possibly being hit by a hurricane bothers you, please do not move here.

That said, almost everywhere in the country and world will have some sort of bad weather phenomenon to be concerned with.

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Some hurricanes can be MUCH LARGER than the entire state, in which case there would be no area untouched.

I can't believe people constantly come here and ask this same question, FOLKS, THERE IS NO PLACE IN FLORIDA THAT IS FREE FROM HURRICANE RISK! All of us who live here know this, and try to prepare accordingly. If the thought of possibly being hit by a hurricane bothers you, please do not move here.

That said, almost everywhere in the country and world will have some sort of bad weather phenomenon to be concerned with.