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Summer reruns

Write something about the start of hurricane season, we said. But it has all been written before, she said. Then she proved it.

By KELLEY BENHAM
Published May 31, 2005

	1992: Hurricane Andrew
	1998: Hurricane Georges
	1999: Hurricane Floyd
	2004: Hurricane Jeanne

Editor's note: Every word of this story is taken verbatim from past articles in the St. Petersburg Times.

It's that time again. (1994, 2002)

That giant whirlwind that blows cyclone-force winds and brings mammoth waves and flooding is coming into season. (1976)

On Wednesday of this week, June 1, the national hurricane center in Miami once again begins its six-month season of scanning the warm tropical waters of the Atlantic and Caribbean for signs of the circulating weather patterns that signal the spawning of killer hurricanes. (1977)

Gordon E. Dunn, chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau in Miami, refuses to predict whether the state will suffer a hurricane this year. He said there is no way to tell. (1960) Nature's whirling dervish is as unpredictable as the girls for whom it is named. (1964)

It was in 1921 that Suncoast residents experienced their last major hurricane and the experts feel the area is "long overdue for a direct hit." (1976)

"I don't think we realize how lucky we have been," said William Gray, the Colorado State University professor who forecasts the number of hurricanes each year. (2003)

"Florida is the luckiest state," he said. (1995) "It is a sitting duck." (1990, 1995)

Every year, the experts say this streak of luck cannot continue. (2003) It's just a matter of time before the big killer hurricanes return. (1991) Don't decide "it can't happen to us!" (1964)

"It's not a question of if, but when," said Jerry Jarrell, the newly installed director of the National Hurricane Center. "The hurricane will come." (1998)

"It's inevitable," Gray said. "There's no way out." (1999)

Hurricane fury should not be underestimated. (1968) Storm surge is the hurricane's biggest threat. (1987) It has long been recognized that a hurricane's menace increases ten-fold when it has water to hurl before it. (1951)

Wind can be a big problem too. (2003) Hurricanes are big winds. They kill people. They destroy places. In total damages, they have exceeded any other natural catastrophe. They're bad weather even for ducks. (1964)

Today, adequate warning systems, the best in history, insure the bay area against being caught unprepared. (1951)

But that doesn't mean forecasters know where hurricanes will actually go. (2003)

It's a highly scientific activity that in recent years has come to be intertwined with a psychological riddle - how to persuade perfectly rational people to save their own necks. (1977)

One weather expert suggests assuming a kneeling position, hands clasped tightly together. (1968) If Florida is to survive what forecasters say will be a notably intense hurricane season, prayer alone won't suffice. (1999)

It's not known whether evacuation will work. It may or may not be a problem. (1976)

Better to stay in a fortified home or building than risk getting killed in nightmarish traffic jams. (1993) Keep emotionally under control. (1951)

J.T. Drip, Times poet of the rain gauge, was busy yesterday regarding the unwet skies. (1961)

In fact, he was busy staring hurricane season squarely in the face - an unpleasant experience for both parties. (1950)

"One thing about it. This month has a tendency to start dry but finish wet." (1961)

Now we wait. (2000)

-- Kelley Benham can be reached at 727 893-8848 or benham@sptimes.com Times researchers Caryn Baird and Mary Mellstrom contributed to this report.

[Last modified May 30, 2005, 19:15:03]