Introduction

What do the years 1886, 1896, 1916, 1964, 1985, 1995, 2004, and 2005 have in common other than the fact they all end with a 4, a 5, or a 6?

Answer: These are the only years on record that Florida suffered impacts from at least three hurricanes. 2004 is the only year in which Florida was impacted by four hurricanes.

Anyone who's lived here any length of time knows that the hurricane is synonymous with Florida. If states had state storms like they have state birds and state songs, Kansans might claim the tornado, but Floridians could certainly claim the hurricane.

With its unique geography and long coastline, it should be no surprise that two out of every five hurricanes that affect the U.S. make landfall in Florida. And its been this way since before Florida was Florida.

In 1622, 1715, and again in 1733, Spain suffered devastating economic shocks when entire fleets of its treasure ships were destroyed by hurricanes off Florida's shores.

Florida got lucky when the almost forgotten 1919 Atlantic/Gulf Hurricane passed just south of Key West and the Dry Tortugas before slamming into Corpus Christi, Texas.

That luck only held for a few more years however, until the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 and the Deadly Great Lake Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928 mauled south Florida with a vicious one-two punch. These twin monsters are partially credited with ending the Florida Land Boom and dragging Florida into the Great Depression years before the rest of the country.

In 1935, the Great Labor Day Hurricane smashed Florida Keys. Standing as the most powerful hurricane (at landfall) to ever strike the continental U.S., this compact hurricane did comparatively little economic damage because it stuck the middle of the Florida Keys.

The Gold Coast wasn't so lucky 12 years later in 1947 when an almost unremembered, albeit powerful, Category 4 hurricane known only as the Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano Beach Hurricane struck Palm Beach County.

1960's Hurricane Donna showed that hurricanes can have long, disruptive lives by bringing hurricane force winds to every eastern seaboard state in the U.S. from Florida to Maine. 

1992 saw Hurricane Andrew, decimate much of south Miami-Dade County causing $26.5 billion in damage. The damage was so extreme many people knew it would be decades before a single hurricane could cause that much damage. Unfortunately, it only took 12 years before Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne collectively caused an astounding $52 billion in damage in 2004.

In 2005, the cataclysmic event all Floridians fear - a direct strike by a major hurricane on a large metropolitan area - happened not in Florida, but in New Orleans, Louisiana. While only a Category 3 storm at landfall, Hurricane Katrina rewrote almost all the records with over 2,000 lives lost and $80 billion in damages.

The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active in recorded history. The impact of the season was catastrophic. Every Gulf Coast state took a pummeling, and Florida came in for its share, as Hurricane Dennis, Hurricane Wilma, and even Hurricane Katrina hit the state. Never in recorded history has there been an Atlantic hurricane season that had so many superlatives: The most named storms (28); the greatest number of Category 5 storms (4), and the most damage (over $100 billion).

Fortunately, none of Florida's major metropolitan areas have suffered a direct hit from a Category 4 or 5 storm since the 1926 hurricane that barreled over downtown Miami. Some analysts calculate that if the 1926 hurricane struck Miami today, the damage would greatly exceed that caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Unfortunately, it's just a matter of time before some future version of Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in Miami. Inevitably, Tampa, Jacksonville, Palm Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale will also suffer. The only question is when. Whether its next year or a hundred years from now, a truly cataclysmic storm will strike each of our major population centers.

Archeology tells us hurricanes have been shaping and reshaping the Florida peninsula for thousands of years. As the great environmental menace of our state, they deserve to be studied, remembered, and reflected upon.

Click on the buttons above to take a quick tour of the hurricanes that changed the Sunshine State.