HH and Hurricaines

[InstImpres]

I know there is no 100% way to know what is going to happen but is there any website to checkout the hurricane patterns (predicted or past). We were in HH last summer and had to leave due to the storm. We would love to try again but August is our only choice and all though there is no guarantee, I don't know that I could deal with that again.

TIA
Sandy

 

[Doug Wolfe]

This is a great question. I just got back from HH on Saturday evening, after a week of great weather.

I do not know where you should look, but I asked this very question of our tour guide on a dolphin tour.

He explained there have actually been very few evacuations of Hilton Head over the past few decades and relatively little damage when the storms do roll through. Just the opposite for Vero Beach in 2004, where I see Disney is still doing roof repairs.

The Weather Channel did a story with the National Weather Service just a couple of weeks ago. It indicated they expect 7 to 9 hurricanes in 2005, which is obviously just a prediction, but only a few would come close to the U.S. mainland. 2004 was extremely unusual with 4 actually hitting Florida. You may want to do a google search along the lines of "hurricane Hilton Head."

Pure guess on my part, but if I were betting, I would suspect the odds of you having to leave again are not overly great. Please forget my name if I am wrong.

 

[RobDoc]

Hilton Head has not had a direct hurricane hit in over 100 years, although the island may be evacuated if the threat exists. The Disney resort is certainly vulnerable to flooding due to it's location on it's own island and a storm surge could easily overrun the area- thus the building codes that don't allow any ground level homes or living areas. Disney does have an elaborate underground pumping system to help minimize flood waters at the resort.

Here is some information about <a href="http://www.hhisleinfo.com/faqs.htm#hurricanes">hurricanes at HH.</a>

Enjoy!

 

[InstImpres]

Thanks for the info and the link. I guess maybe I asked the wrong question, since it never really hit last year, anyone have an idea how often evacations happen?

I don't recall reading about them but honestly, I never thought I would have an interest in HH, so didn't pay a lot of attention.

 

[DVCLiz]

Please don't deprive yourself of a Hilton Head vacation because of the hurricane season. I know it is covered ad nauseum in the press, but really, NC and SC don't have that many evacuations - in a lifetime of coastal vacations, I can only think of once when we were evacuated. Go and enjoy - if a hurricane is predicted, you'll know about it in advance. otherwise, go and enjoy!!!!!

 

[Doug Wolfe]

If I remember correctly the tour guide told me the last full scale evacuation of Hilton Head was when Hurricane Frederick came through.

I just did a quick google search on that storm. It was in 1979, 26 years ago.

Please go to Doc's link in the reply above. He has provided you with a nice place to look. According to this site the last time Hilton Head was actually hit by a hurricane was in 1896. As always Doc, you are awesome.

 

[JimMIA]

The place to go for more hurricane information than anyone could possibly want is www.nhc.noaa.gov That's the National Hurricane Center's excellent website. They have archived information from the beginning of time and all the latest stuff. Another very good site when there is actually a storm around is www.weatherunderground.com , which is a for-profit weather site.

Both the NHC site and Weatherunderground have much better info than any of the cable or network media, who tend to be way behind the curve and more theatrical than journalistic. If a storm is threatening, tune to Comedy Central and go to NHC for your storm info.

The chances of any single spot getting hit by a hurricane during any one season are so remote, I doubt if they can be calculated. To try to narrow that down further to one month is even more difficult. The law of averages says you almost certainly will NOT have a hurricane at HHI during August, but obviously nobody will know until the end of August.

Make your plans and have a great vacation!