Florida: Hurricane magnet for a century
Hurricanes and tropical storms have crisscrossed Florida since long before tracking maps, spaghetti plots and cones of uncertainty entered our vocabulary.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains an extensive archive of hurricane data, and one interactive map allows users to chart storms that have impacted a city, county, region or state. Different colors represent different storm strengths.
Florida's interactive, color-coded chart looks like somebody spilled a set of pick-up sticks across a state map. It's that congested.
DOWNLOAD: Hurricane Hub app
Below are a series of images showing color-coded, hurricane tracking lines superimposed over a Florida map. It includes all tropical storms and hurricanes that made landfall in Florida for the past 100 years, through 2015.
Image below: Category 5 hurricanes
Image below: Category 4 hurricanes and higher
Image below: Category 3 hurricanes and higher
Image below: Category 2 hurricanes and higher
Image below: Category 1 hurricanes and higher
Image below: Tropical storms and higher
Image below: Tropical depressions and higher
It's hard to see, but yes, the Florida map still is pictured in the image directly above. All 67 counties have been impacted by tropical systems on multiple occasions during the past 100 years, so there is no safe haven in the Sunshine State.
At least, not until January. In the past century, only three months — January, March and April — failed to register at least one land-falling tropical storm or hurricane in Florida.
Twenty-eight major hurricanes, which are Category 3, 4 or 5 (111 mph winds or higher), have made landfall in Florida since 1916.
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