Hurricane Season: Why Would Anyone Want to Live in Florida This Time of Year?

When I lived in Florida, I happened to stumble upon the answer to the age-old question that everyone outside of Florida asks about the Sunshine State - "Why would anyone want to live there?" - in regards to the numerous hurricanes Florida gets every year. Between the months of May and September every year, Florida is continually left susceptible to potential hurricanes, because the weather patterns are conducive to warm weather, warm winds, and lots of moisture in the gulf region year in and year out. As a result, the typical summer hurricane season offers Florida about 20 to 25 chances per year to receive a "named" storm or tropical weather pattern, which graces Florida's shores at some point during this time frame each year. Sometimes it just means a lot of rain; but, more often than not the rain and winds bring unfathomable damage and destruction that disrupts the lives of thousands of Floridians.

To the non-Floridians, there is no understanding why anyone would live in an area that offers the potential for damage related to storms of this nature. One storm could mean lifelong financial damage from which few could ever financially recover. On the other hand, Florida offers great beaches, financial opportunity, great weather, and lots to do the whole year through, while the remainder of the country is buried in snow during the winter.

As to hurricanes and learning to deal with the end result, the simple answer to the age old question about living in Florida, the answer is quite simple. In the case of Pensacola, Florida, which was hit by Hurricane Opal in 1995, this was the first storm in sixty-three years to "hit" the Pensacola area. The Jacksonville, Florida area has now gone over sixty years since its last "landfallJ" event. Tallahassee, Florida saw the effects of Hurricane Kate in 1985, and received some wind damage from Opal in 1995, and found some problems with flooding during the recent Hurricane Gustav. But for the most part, most Florida towns appear to receive "direct hits" more periodically than annually. As a direct result, most Floridians are directly impacted by Hurricanes than most might appear to believe.

From my personal brief three year experience with a few hurricanes, where the "Eye of Opal" went directly over my home in Tallahassee, Florida, most people only see the heavy continuous thunderstorm rains for a few days. Very few, if any, regularly witness the utter destruction that a Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Opal releases. Most are spared the brutal potency of the storm, because most have the keen sense to flee and protect themselves from dire harm.

Perhaps most of this is due to the simple pre-warning effect, because Hurricanes are known threats, whereas a tornado is a random unknown calamity. Where most know a Hurricane is coming, a tornado gives very little warning. Hurricanes are known for spawning of tornadoes, which then offer the same random threats and calamity concerns. But for the most part, Hurricane storms offer citizens a chance for preparation and survival, because we have the opportunity to avoid the storm or the threat of the storm, by simply running away.

In answer to the question though, why do people want to live in Florida, even with all the Hurricanes? The answer is quite simple. Hurricanes do not happen everyday. Normally, Florida is nicer than other areas at least 340 to 345 days per year. If the chance of catching a hurricane in your part of Florida is once every sixty years or so, then the chance is most Floridians may never actually see an actual hurricane in their lifetime. The chances of it happening are probably greater than anywhere else in the United States; but, the odds are pretty good that it will not happen either.