The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 devastated South Florida and nearby islands. The flood damages were large looking east on Flagler Street at the 12th Avenue intersection. The storm gave Florida an early start to the Great Depression, estimating $235 billion in damages if it were to hit Florida in 2018. Photo credits gerald fink.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season carries a chilling forecast: 25 named storms and 13 hurricanes — seven of which are predicted to be Category 3 or higher. No need to fear; hurricanes have been hitting Miami long before the University of Miami made this natural disaster their namesake. If there is anything Miamians can do, it is to thrive in the unstable weather — they even enjoy it. Here’s everything you need to know to weather the storms this season like storm-wrangler.
Hurricane season saw its kickoff even before the start of the fall semester, with Hurricane Beryl ripping its way through the Caribbean in late June. Hurricane Debby rolled around before midterms, hitting Tallahassee and the Florida Panhandle in early August. And recently, Hurricane Helene is making headlines tearing through Florida, Georgia and North Carolina in late September.
Although Debby spared South Florida, the storm season — which officially ends during the last full week of classes in November — brings constant warnings and foreboding predictions of tropical disturbances churning in the Atlantic.
The threat of a hurricane hitting Miami can leave University of Miami students, especially those new to South Florida, feeling nervous during the storm season.
“Oh, I’m petrified,” said first-year business student Brooklyn Matt. “Growing up, lightning and thunder were always my biggest fear, but I think the people around me will help me prepare,” said the native New Yorker.
While Matt has yet to experience her first South Florida hurricane, Alin Gurdikyan, a graduate student, remembers Hurricane Irma vividly and the impact the 2017 storm had on her family.
“It was my first year living here so we didn’t know anything about hurricanes,” said Gurdikyan. “My family started packing up and started driving, but the hurricane followed our direction,” she said, noting that trees were being uprooted. “We were almost gonna crash; we had to move from hotel to hotel to get to safety.”
Matthew Shpiner, executive director of Emergency Management at the University of Miami, said the university works year-round to keep UM and its community safe and prepared.
“It’s a part of life living in South Florida,” said Shpiner, adding that South Florida is in a hurricane evacuation zone for major storms, Category 3 or higher. “It’s not a common occurrence, but we still need to be prepared for it.”
Prior to midterms, there have been two major hurricanes to hit Florida. That suspected highly active season has finally started.
Hurricane Helene hit Western Florida as a Category 4 late September. Helene is now the eighth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2024 season.
Helene has been the deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic since Hurricane Maria in 2017. Helene hit Georgia and the Carolinas especially hard as they are not as prepared for hurricanes.
Coming less than two weeks behind was Hurricane Milton. Milton gained strength to a Category 5 in the gulf until it made landfall as a Category 3 near Sarasota.
As it came across the state, it caused numerous spin-off tornadoes. Milton called for a suspension of UM classes for almost a full week as a precaution.
Both storms caused death, high storm surge, flooding, and mass destruction.
What is a Hurricane, Anyway?
Hurricanes start as tropical storms over the ocean and are classified as hurricanes when winds reach up to 74 mph. Hurricanes require warm water and strong winds.
When these factors combine, winds start moving in a spiral, creating a hurricane. The faster the winds, the more dangerous the storm.
Hurricane season typically runs between late May and November, so this information is more pertinent for the fall semester.
“The hurricane center forecasts are five-day forecasts, so maybe as early as five days out, there is indication that there may be a threat,” said Robert Molleda, meteorologist-in-charge of the National Weather Service’s Miami Forecast Office. “But we aren’t always going to have that timeframe. Sometimes they can form close to us, so it’s important to keep a level of readiness.”
Hurricanes are rated on a scale from 1 to 5, with Category 1 being the tamest and Category 5 the strongest. Categories are classified by their wind speeds:
• Category 1: 74–95 mph
• Category 2: 96–110 mph
• Category 3: 111–129 mph
• Category 4: 130–156 mph
• Category 5: 157 mph or higher
What Do I Do if One Comes?
Hurricane preparedness is essential for people who want to prepare for the possibility of one making landfall.
For the latest updates and advisories on whether to evacuate, tune into the local TV news and radio stations and check the national weather service’s website.
“If you are even remotely plugged in through sources of information, you could see the latest information on any storms that are out there,” Molleda said.
Follow directions from local officials; if told to evacuate, either head to a hurricane evacuation center or seek shelter that is not in an evacuation zone.
Be “Hurricane Prepped”
Weather emergency officials advise residents to stay away from all windows, skylights and glass doors if they are staying in one place.
Adam Baranovsky, a UM graduate student, said that as someone who has experienced hurricanes in the Northeast, he is ready to weather the South Florida storm season.
