Featuring a comprehensive chronology of more than one hundred different storms, an informative and up-to-date account of the major hurricanes to hit Florida over the past four and a half centuries, and their human cost, includes more than one hundred illustrations and seventy-six maps. Simultaneous. UP.

The Sunshine State has an exceptionally stormy past. Vulnerable to storms that arise in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico, Florida has been hit by far more hurricanes than any other state. In many ways, hurricanes have helped shape Florida's history. Early efforts by the French, Spanish, and English to claim the territory as their own were often thwarted by hurricanes. More recently, storms have affected such massive projects as Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad and efforts to manage water in South Florida. In this book, Jay Barnes offers a fascinating and informative look at Florida's hurricane history. Drawing on meteorological research, news reports, first-person accounts, maps, and historical photographs, he traces all of the notable hurricanes that have affected the state over the last four-and-a-half centuries, from the great storms of the early colonial period to the devastating hurricanes of 2004 and 2005--Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, Dennis, Katrina, and Wilma. In addition to providing a comprehensive chronology of more than one hundred individual storms, Florida's Hurricane History includes information on the basics of hurricane dynamics, formation, naming, and forecasting. It explores the origins of the U.S. Weather Bureau and government efforts to study and track hurricanes in Florida, home of the National Hurricane Center. But the book does more than examine how hurricanes have shaped Florida's past; it also looks toward the future, discussing the serious threat that hurricanes continue to pose to both lives and property in the state. Filled with more than 200 photographs and maps, the book also features a foreword by Steve Lyons, tropical weather expert for the Weather Channel. It will serve as both an essential reference on hurricanes in Florida and a remarkable source of the stories--of tragedy and destruction, rescue and survival--that foster our fascination with these powerful storms.

This book presents, by historical periods, a summary of the hurricanes and tropical storms that struck Florida's more than 1200-mile long coastline during the 122 years from 1871 through 1993. It traces the history of hurricanes and tropical storms, using data from satellites to personal letters of people who lived through the storms. The book includes photographs from newspapers dating back into the early 1900s showing damage to downtown Miami, trains swept off their tracks, sunken ships and more. The primary goal in preparing this book was to update the historical work as it pertains to Florida, to consolidate and standardize technical terms published at the beginning of each hurricane season on hurricane tracking maps, and to introduce the following new material pertaining to Florida: (1) a detailed historical discussion, (2) a chronological listing of all Florida hurricanes, (3) 13 plates of hurricane and tropical storm tracks grouped into 10-year increments, and (4) a table showing the number of tropical storms and hurricanes by 10-year increments.

As people continue to develop coastal areas, society's liability to hurricanes will dramatically increase, regardless of changes in the environment. This book addresses these key issues, providing a detailed examination of