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Highlands Today

Danger From Hurricanes Still Remains

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By BILL RETTEW JR.

Highlands Today

Published: September 22, 2008

Updated: 09/22/2008 10:26 am

SEBRING - We've been lucky so far in the 2008 hurricane season, but are not yet in the clear.

Compared to a few years ago, Florida residents have experienced comparatively little activity in the 2008 hurricane season, which for much of the rest of the Gulf of Mexico has been more active than usual.

Tom Dougherty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin, said on Sunday that the effect of hurricanes differs every year.

Although there was flurry of activity during August and early September, only Hurricane Hanna gave county residents "a couple of close calls," said Dougherty. Strong winds gusted in the Florida Keys and did damage when Ike brushed past.

"We've been pretty lucky so far," said Dougherty. "So far we made it through the season pretty good."

The tropical storm season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

Bob Sheets, former director of the National Hurricane Center and a Lake Placid resident, said someone's perspective on this year's hurricanes "all depends on where you're at."

Early on and before Aug. 31, we experienced 68 percent of a full season's average of Net Tropical Cyclone Activity, as reported in a forecast on Atlantic hurricane activity by Philip J. Klotzback and William M. Gray. The two are from the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University.

During an average storm season, only 33 percent of all activity typically occurs before the end of August.

Eighty percent of all hurricanes occur between Aug. 15 and Oct. 20. Sept 10-11 is the peak with the incidence of storms high through the middle part of October, said Sheets.

Florida has as many hurricanes in October as any other month, said Sheets.

"October is a very active period in Florida," he said. "We are still in the active period and everybody just needs to stay at attention."

The origin of big storms to hit Florida typically shifts as the season progresses. Early storms usually form off the Eastern African Coast, and later in the season, storms form closer to home in the Western Caribbean.

Whether more storms will take their toll is up in the air, according to Sheets.

"It's too early to tell," he said. "We'll have to watch. You don't expect to get hit every year."

Sheets pointed to a system now forming south of Puerto Rico that might intensify rapidly, if upper winds allow its western edge to better develop.

And then what? Sheets made no prediction.

Bill Rettew Jr. may be contacted at 386-5857 or wrettew@highlandstoday.com

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