Hurricanes and Florida. For the last two years, they seem to go together.

The year 2004 saw four hurricanes (Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne) land here. And 2005 didn’t seem to be much better, with Florida hit by four more hurricanes (Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma). Of course, Katrina and Rita were just category one storms when they came through, but Dennis and Wilma were a different story.

Once, twice, three times bad luck

Unfortunately, I live in the part of Florida that we now jokingly call “hurricane central,” because we’ve been hit three times so far, with Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma. So I got to thinking: what are the odds of a state being hit by four hurricanes in a year, not to mention eight times in 14 months?

Oh, and that my particular part of the state would be hit three times in 13 months?

I had to wait a bit to do all my research, because the power and phone lines were down in the whole county I live in, there was no internet. But this is what I found once I was back online.

Could you believe…

I searched and searched but couldn’t find any stats on the chances of Florida being attacked so often lately. And you don’t want me to do the stats myself (it wasn’t one of my best subjects in school).

But if it were up to me, I’d say taking a direct hit 3 times in 13 months would be next to impossible (statistically speaking).

I found some charts where Florida seems to attract more hurricanes than any other state. Before the 2004 and 2005 seasons, our last big storm was Andrew in 1992. So we had a little over a decade of quiet. I do remember several “hurricane days” (work canceled and you stay home, glued to the TV) between 1993 and 2003, but the storms curved at the last minute and saved us.

And I’d rather no more hurricanes showed up on my doorstep.

Now what are the chances that he will land a direct hit on four next year?

Don’t be afraid to visit

So does all of the above make you feel like Florida is taboo and you should never visit again (or for the first time)? Don’t let the stats or the nightly news scare you. Most of the year we are free of storms and have pleasant weather. Just keep in mind that if you decide to vacation here from mid-July to mid-October, there’s always a chance of wild winds blowing.