Off The Walt

As Tropical Storm Fay comes to visit South Florida, I was wondering exactly how many hurricanes or "weather events" as the meteorologists call them that I’ve been through since birth in July 1977. Some research revealed some interesting results: 22 hurricanes and 30 depressions/storms! Geez! Time to move to Colorado!

Hurricanes:

1. September 3, 1979- Hurricane David, Category 5, winds over 175 mph
2. November 8-12, 1980- Hurricane Jeanne, Category 2 (25 inches of rain in a 6-hour period!)
3. October 12, 1987- Hurricane Floyd, Category 1
4. September 13, 1988- Hurricane Gilbert, Category 5, winds over 185 mph
5. August 24, 1992- Hurricane Andrew, Category 5, winds over 165 mph
6. August 2, 1995- Hurricane Erin, Category 2 (I was dating a girl named Erin the year before! She wanted revenge?)
7. July 11, 1996- Hurricane Bertha, Category 3
8. September 2, 1996- Hurricane Fran, Category 3
9. October 18, 1996- Hurricane Lili, Category 3
10. September 25, 1998- Hurricane Georges, Category 2
11. August 29, 1999- Hurricane Dennis, Category 2
12. September 15, 1999- Hurricane Floyd, Category 4
13. October 15, 1999- Hurricane Irene, Category 2
14. November 5, 2001 – Hurricane Michelle, Category 4
15. September 5, 2004 – Hurricane Frances, Category 4
16. September 16, 2004 – Hurricane Ivan, Category 5, winds over 165 mph (the sixth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, spawned 117 tornadoes, 8 billion in damage)
17. September 26, 2004 – Hurricane Jeanne, Category 3
18. July 10, 2005 – Hurricane Dennis, Category 4
19. August 26, 2005 – Hurricane Katrina, Category 5, winds over 175 mph (81.2 billion in damage, 1,836+ dead)
20. September 12, 2005 – Hurricane Ophelia, Category 1
21. September 20, 2005 – Hurricane Rita, Category 5, winds over 185mph
22. October 24, 2005 – Hurricane Wilma, Category 5, winds over 185 mp5 (20.6 billion in damage)

Some Lesser Weather Events

1. August 17, 1981- Tropical Storm Dennis
2. November, 1981- unnamed subtropical storm
3. September 27, 1984- Tropical Storm Isidore
4. July 23, 1985- Tropical Storm Bob
5. September 7, 1987- Tropical Depression Nine
6. May 30, 1988- Tropical Depression One
7. August 13, 1988- Tropical Depression Four
8. August 23, 1988- Tropical Storm Chris
9. November 23, 1988- Tropical Storm Keith
10. Late June-Early July, 1989- Tropical Storm Allison
11. May 25, 1990- Tropical Depression One
12. October 12, 1990- Tropical Depression Marco
13. June 30, 1991- A tropical depression which later becomes Tropical Storm Ana
14. October 16, 1991- Tropical Storm Fabian
15. June 25, 1992- Tropical Depression One
16. June 1, 1993- Tropical Depression One
17. October 2, 1994- Tropical Depression Ten
18. November 16, 1994- Tropical Storm Gordon (Later became a hurricane after crossing Florida)
19. August 23, 1995- Tropical Storm Jerry
20. September 20, 1998- Tropical Storm Hermine (14 inches of rain)
21. November 5, 1998- Tropical Storm Mitch
22. September 21, 1999- Tropical Storm Harvey
23. September 18, 2000 – Tropical Storm Gordon
24. June 12, 2001 – Subtropical Depression Allison
25. September 6, 2003 – Tropical Depression Henri
26. October 10, 2004 – Tropical Storm Matthew
27. June 11, 2005 – Tropical Storm Arlene
28. August 30, 2006 – Tropical Storm Ernesto
29. December 13, 2007 – Tropical Storm Olga
30. August 18, 2008- Tropical Storm Fay

The rain outside is picking up and I don’t know if we’re going to lose power soon, so I’ll say goodnight. To my fellow South Floridians, stay safe and don’t take chances. Using our heads and being cautious is the best way to stay out of the hospital.