It’s almost December and it’s 60 degrees and clear outside. Granted, we are having some patchy frost at night, but having to wear a light jacket beats shoveling snow. Another reason to rejoice, weather-wise, is that we are at the end of the 2009 hurricane season.
As I say in Complete Guide to The Villages, hurricane season in Florida is just a fact of life. The season officially begins June 1 and runs through November 30, with most activity typically occurring in late August through September.
While The Villages is inland, and hurricanes are most notorious for savaging the Florida coast, anyone who has been in Florida for awhile can tell you that the storms do effect the center of the state too, even if it’s like this year, just with rain and dark skies. In fact, just a few weeks ago, Hurricane Ida turned in from The Gulf of Mexico and crossed the state over to The Atlantic, leaving The Villages a bit soggy.
The 2009 hurricane season was relatively light, especially concerning how the storms impacted The Villages. Over all, the season had one fewer named storm and three fewer hurricanes than average. There were nine named storms and three official hurricanes.
This year the first storm of the year (a tropical depression) appeared, pre-season, in May. All was quiet until Tropical Storm Ana formed in August. Hurricane Bill (the strongest of the season with winds up to 135 mph) formed on the heels of Ana.
Tropical Storm Claudette (Aug 16-18) was the first of the season to (very mildly) impact The Villages. Like with Ida (Nov.4-10), The Villages only saw some rain from the storm. These two storms, by the way, were the only two storms to make landfall in the U.S. this year. Claudette came in over the Florida panhandle, with its highest winds reaching 50 mph. Ida came in through Alabama, near the Florida border. Highest winds from Ida reached 105 mph.
Hurricane Fred (Sept. 7-12) with winds up to 120 mph, was the other hurricane of the season. It formed off the west coast of Africa and died southwest of Bermuda.
Though this season was light, especially in regard to the Villages, hurricane season is nothing to ignore. We all know about Katrina (2005) and New Orleans, but Katrina hit hard in parts of Florida too. It formed in Bermuda and crossed the state before gaining strength in the Gulf. As well as taking direct damage from the winds, many area of the state were flooded and the entire state was under a state of emergency because of Katrina.
Katrina was an extreme case but it pays to be prepared. Aside from wind and rain, even mild-mannered storms can cause flooding and possible power outages.
To learn more about Florida’s Hurricane Season and how to prepare for hurricanes in The Villages, read The Complete Guide to The Villages. I briefly cover storm categories, from a meteorological point of view, and talk about special considerations for the homeowner, like windstorm insurance. For more on how to prepare for hurricanes, visit the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, or My Safe Florida Home.
