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JOY DAVIS-PLATTA Weather Channel documentary on the severe storm that struck the coast in March 1993 debuts tonight.
Hernando County residents who endured one of the worst storms ever along the Gulf Coast will tell their stories tonight on a nationally televised program.
"The show's for anybody who's just in awe of the weather," said Jim Cantore, host of the Storm Stories series on the Weather Channel. The series, Cantore said, "takes a look at the human element in any dramatic event like hurricanes, tornadoes and floods."
Tonight's program will focus on the late winter storm that hit coastal communities in March 1993. It is known locally as the no-name storm; Cantore and his crew refer to it as the "superstorm."
Regardless of its name, the storm, which left 1,300 homes flooded in Hernando County alone, will never be forgotten.
Pine Island resident Bill Cope bought his home, just north of Alfred A. McKethan Park, in 1984. He had no idea how vulnerable it was to flooding, he said, until the no-name storm suddenly hit in the early morning hours of March 13.
Because no one knew when the water would stop rising, Cope, along with several other coastal residents, was evacuated by a Coast Guard helicopter.
"It should be very interesting to see how this whole thing turns out," said Cope, who was approached in the spring by the Weather Channel and was involved in filming twice over the summer. "It should make for a good story."
Sustained high winds during the storm created a tidal surge that ambushed coastal residents, causing more property damage than any weather event in Hernando County history.
Meteorologists would later explain that the sustained winds from the west had pushed water toward the Gulf Coast throughout the previous day. Coincidentally, a massive thunderstorm from the south pumped in more moisture.
Several residents from coastal Hernando communities hit hardest by the storm - Aripeka, Hernando Beach and Pine Island - revived their decade-old memories for Cantore and crew.
"It's a very brave thing these people do," said Cantore, a self-proclaimed "weather junkie" since he was a boy. "You never forget about that stuff. For good or bad, these are life-changing events."
Survivors dug up photographs and videotapes showing waves of briny water rolling through their debris-strewn streets.
"I've been lucky enough to view some really phenomenal weather events from outside of harm's way," Cantore said in a telephone interview. "I'm not saying we produce miracles, but I have heard some truly amazing survival stories."
Since its premiere in January, Cantore said, Storm Stories has become popular among Weather Channel viewers.
"They're ready for some new shows," he said. "This will be a good one."
The Storm Stories program featuring the no-name storm will air at 8 and 11 p.m. today, and again at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 21, on the Weather Channel.
- Information from Times files was used in this report. Joy Davis-Platt can be reached at 848-1435. Send e-mail to joy@sptimes.com