Florida No Longer a Prime Hurricane Target?

As the sun officially sets on the Atlantic Hurricane Season Sunday, Floridians can breathe a collective sigh of relief that another year has passed in a largely uneventful manner.

This season has delivered a total of eight named storms, six of which were hurricanes. Only two developed into major hurricanes – Category 3 or higher. Those results track well with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predictions for the year.

“Fortunately, much of the U.S. coastline was spared this year with only one land falling hurricane along the East Coast,” NOAA quoted its National Weather Service director Louis Uccellini as saying.

Also notable during this year’s storm season was the absence of any major threats to the state of Florida. In fact, the state hasn’t seen a solid strike since Wilma back in 2005.

There’s an explanation for that, weather experts say.

“A number of studies have shown that there has been an observable shift northward in the tracks of tropical storms and hurricanes, including the points where they form, over the past 25 years,” Bryan Norcross, senior hurricane specialist for The Weather Channel, was quoted by the Sun-Sentinel as saying.

As it stands right now, North Carolina has the shortest interval time for hurricane strikes at four years, the paper reported.

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Studies are showing that hurricanes are shifting from the equator and are heading more toward the poles instead, NBC News reported. This is based on satellite data that dates back to the 1980s, which shows a shift of about 35 miles a decade on both sides of the equator.

While that’s a ray of sunshine in Florida’s normally tumultuous hurricane season forecast, experts are warning Floridians against scrapping their emergency kits just yet.

“Florida has been lucky – and one day soon that luck will run out,” Norcross was quoted by the Sun-Sentinel as saying.

Uccellini urges residents and communities to use the “off season” to refine their hurricane plans and prepare for next season, which kicks off June 1, 2015.

Patch File Photo