News - Weather - Hurricane

Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

November a stranger to storms

They aren’t odd, but none has hit Coast in 300 years

How rare is a November hurricane?

Late-autumn storms are not as odd as they might seem. That’s because November hurricanes do churn — about every two or three years — but they rarely make landfall along the Gulf of Mexico with hurricane-force winds. In 300 years, no known November hurricane has struck the Mississippi Coast.

The Florida coasts can’t claim the same thing. The Sunshine State had at least three 20th-century strikes, in 1925, 1935 and 1985. Historically, when a November hurricane makes landfall it will likely be in that state, although complacency is impossible. Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama joined Florida in keeping watch on Ida.

“Twenty-nine hurricanes have struck the 80-mile length of our coastline with hurricane-force winds since 1717, but none in November,” said historian Charles L. Sullivan, author of “Hurricanes of the Mississippi Gulf Coast: Three Centuries of Destruction.”

Sullivan’s research shows the Coast has experienced one hurricane in July, 10 in August, 14 in September and three in October. Sullivan has no month for one storm in 1746 but knows it was in the autumn.

“Because warm water is the engine that drives a hurricane, it stands to reason that a storm that forms after the water is cooled won’t be as strong because the engine is not fired up,” said Sullivan, professor emeritus at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

November threats are most memorable in years when the Storm King throws too many curve balls. Prep-weary coastal residents are exhausted. Nerves are frazzled from too many close calls or hits.

One such year was 1985, the last time hurricane-force winds hit the United States in November. “Coast again is placed under hurricane watch,” declared a Nov. 20 Sun Herald headline.

From the story: “A record three hurricanes this summer and fall — Danny, Elena and Juan — hit or passed near the Coast in the last four months, with Elena slamming ashore at Gulfport on Labor Day, causing millions of dollars in damage but only a handful of injuries ... Residents of the hurricane-weary Mississippi Coast kept a watchful eye on late-season Kate.”

Kate landed in Mexico Beach, Fla. But in Mississippi, Jackson County Civil Defense Director Hank Turk remarked, “I think had it hit us, we could have seen some long-term psychological problems.”

Still, this coastline has led a charmed November life.

Dennis Feltgen of the National Hurricane Center on Monday reported that the United States has had 62 November tropical storms and hurricanes since 1870.

Thirty-five of them reached hurricane strength but few made landfall with hurricane strength, which is 74 mph or more.

Kate brought the worst November angst for Mississippians because it was a hellish year for Gulf storms.

The Sun Herald didn’t report such high worry in the other two 20th-century November hurricanes.

For example, on Nov. 30, 1925, a storm that formed in the Caribbean slammed Jacksonville and Tampa as the Coast basked in its usual November niceness.

On Nov. 4, 1935, as Miami was pelted with winds and rain, Gulfport called off an annual flower show because of a drought.

Hurricane season officially runs June 1 through Nov. 30, and the National Hurricane Center says about 97 percent of the tropical activity occurs in those months.

But exceptions exist. In 2005, the year of Hurricane Katrina and 26 other named storms, Epsilon formed as a tropical storm on November 29 in the middle of the Atlantic.

It reached hurricane strength Dec. 2, and persisted for more than a week before dying without hitting landfall.

Tropical Storm Zeta, which didn’t reach landfall or hurricane status, followed Dec. 30.