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Hurricane Guide 2006

Tampa Bay lucky over past 2 years

Even the weather forecasters had something to learn from Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, Katrina and Rita.

By MIKE CLAY, BAY NEWS 9 METEOROLOGIST
Published May 21, 2006

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As I look at a map of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, I'm reminded of the names we'll never forget from the last two hurricane seasons.

It all started in 2004 with Charley, a fast-moving hurricane with a small eye and devastating wind damage inland.

Those six weeks in 2004 also brought us Ivan, Frances and Jeanne. No one could've imagined what was ahead, but 2005's hurricane season started in early June and continued past New Year's Day.

Any previous record book, statistics, meteorology textbooks all have to be rewritten after last year.

Again, in the Tampa Bay area we consider ourselves lucky. We had a close call with Dennis just after the Fourth of July, but after that we were just spectators for a flurry of storms never seen before.

So many areas along the coast from Texas to Florida have been hit, but luckily no direct hit for us.

We have had many lessons, though. Take South Florida from last year.

First, a rapidly developing Katrina came through as a Category 1 and surprised many with its intensity. Then, late in the season, Wilma moved in from the southwest and blasted West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami with high winds and extended power outages.

I was surprised at how poorly prepared many people were, with lines at gas stations within hours of Wilma's exit.

We watched in horror as one of the nation's worst natural disasters unfolded from Katrina in New Orleans and the Mississippi coast.

The enormous storm surge (28 feet) from Katrina on the Mississippi coast should get the attention of anyone living on the west coast of Florida or around Tampa Bay.

Hundreds died when all they had to do is evacuate a few miles inland.

Just like the Mississippi Coast, the shallow waters off our coast make us vulnerable to high storm surge. Imagine our coast with a 10- or 20-foot wall of water coming ashore.

This is why the evacuation zones are so important. You shouldn't evacuate just because your carpet might get wet. But you must leave if you are in danger of drowning from a rapidly moving storm surge.

Hurricane Rita was another example for us of what not to do in the future.

Thousands of Houston residents jammed the already clogged roadways and created a Texas-sized traffic jam. They were fleeing a storm that never really hit Houston, and sadly, some died in hot Interstate 45 traffic jams.

The evacuation problem here in Florida is just as tough to solve. There isn't any place to go to fully escape the threat. If you do live in an evacuation zone, have a good plan. Try to travel a short distance to someone's home in a non-evacuation zone. Don't just pack up the car and "head to Georgia" without motel or gasoline options in mind. Because of the difficulty in evacuating our area, everyone in an evacuation zone should have a "safe house" in a non-evacuation zone to ride out the storm.

The old saying is, "In hurricane season, you should have the weather for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

We enjoy living in Florida, but this is hurricane country. Prepare now and count on BayNews9 with our team of Weather Experts and Pinpoint Doppler 9000 with Live Vipir. Watch Weather on the Nines often, and at 49 past the hour, we will always be along with the Tropical Update.

[Last modified May 19, 2006, 15:05:43]

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