hurricane season - september?

[Candice30]

i got a great rate on airfare for labor day weekend and am thinking of hitting universal for a quick solo trip. is this hurricane season? i have never been to florida outside of june, july, and august.

 

[Foladar]

Seems every month is hurricane season this year (June-October)

 

[dvc_john]

Technically, the hurricane season runs June 1 thru November 30. The peak season is usually about mid-August thru September, although this year things seem to have started early.

 

[SamanthaR]

You've got some really great deals but I don't want to bring the bearer of bad news. September is the PEAK of the hurricane season here. I really don't like to plan anything for the month of September because we dodge hurricanes right and left. Trust me. I live here!

I'm not telling you not to go but it is an iffy month in Florida. The risks are higher. Middle of October and on is a better time.

Hope this helps with your planning.

 

[Motherfletcher]

NOAA’s 2005 Atlantic hurricane season outlook indicates a 70% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 20% chance of a near-normal season, and only a 10% chance of a below-normal season.
The outlook calls for 12-15 tropical storms, with 7-9 becoming hurricanes, and 3-5 of these becoming major hurricanes.
Based on this information all you have to do is count the number of hurricanes and if we have already had 5 major ones by September we should be home free, right?

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Hopefully.

*hopes there's not another Frances incident*

 

[tlev]

I think there was a hurricane that hit on labor day weekend last year. There was a total of like four hurricanes between the middle of August and the middle of Sept. We were there right in the middle of two hurricanes last year and got lucky. It is the price you pay for low crowds!

 

[the Dark Marauder]

That was Frances. She closed down Orlando for 2 days-Labor Day weekend.

 

[johnvree]

I am going the last two weeks of August and had the same concerns.

Most hurricane's have little to no effect on the parks in Orlando. Most of the time, you will experience more cloudy and rainy days, but that's it. Every once in a while, you get a vacation-killer. I was at Disney one year when one of those hit and it was not fun. The worst are the storms that slow up or stall when they hit land. That's what this one did and it dumped rain for days. Those are rare and I wouldn't let it stop me from planning trips during hurricane season. Remember, rain can be a Godsend. You will have the parks all to yourself.

No one wants their vacation ruined. But the people who are at risk of having their homes and lives destroyed by these storms obviously have more to worry about. Just didn't want you guys that live down there in hurricane-alley to think I was forgetting about that.

 

[Snoopymom]

We had planned to be in Daytona Beach, but we ended up staying in St Augustine with my inlaws during Francis, scariest night of my life! We all headed to Orlando the next morning because they had power. Got rooms at POFQ for $80 and met a ton of FL residents doing the same thing. (Very nice of Disney to give everyone a discounted rate, plus they cleaned up the grounds and pool in record time.)

We met a lot of people that week who missed their cruises, flights were canceled, vacations ruined, etc. They said they'd never make plans for trips in Sept again.

We also heard that a lot of Florida residents were understandably not very happy with vacationers using up their resources, gas, water, etc.

We ended up having a fantastic time and we appreciated every little thing because we were just so happy to have survived and be able to salvage our trip, LOL.

If you're having to fly or you're not flexible about canceling or rescheduling, than I think I'd avoid that time, but if you are flexible, then I'd go for it because it's usually a great time to go, uncrowded with nice weather. We're thinking about Labor Day week again this year.

Have fun planning.

 

[SamanthaR]

No one wants their vacation ruined. But the people who are at risk of having their homes and lives destroyed by these storms obviously have more to worry about. Just didn't want you guys that live down there in hurricane-alley to think I was forgetting about that.

Sorry, hurricane alley is not in the Tampa Bay Area. Try Miami. We live in the lightning capital of the world. GO LIGHTNING!

 

[SamanthaR]

We also heard that a lot of Florida residents were understandably not very happy with vacationers using up their resources, gas, water, etc.

I am very surprised to hear this! We're supposed to be hospitable and a friendly state. Shame on the residents that felt that way. At at time of crisis, you would think that everyone would pull together no matter where you're from.

Tourists also keep our taxes down and without the tourists, Florida's economy would be in sad shape.

I am glad you enjoyed your time in Florida eventhough the weather wasn't the greatest.

 

[Snoopymom]

I am very surprised to hear this! We're supposed to be hospitable and a friendly state. Shame on the residents that felt that way. At at time of crisis, you would think that everyone would pull together no matter where you're from.

Tourists also keep our taxes down and without the tourists, Florida's economy would be in sad shape.

I am glad you enjoyed your time in Florida eventhough the weather wasn't the greatest.

Thanks so much, and actually there was a little of that here on the Disney boards last year. A few of us were debating if we should cancel and/or waiting to see if Disney would refund or not and some were saying that they were going no matter what. The FL residents were still shaken up over Charlie, a lot had damage to their homes, still without power, having trouble getting gas and water, etc. so they were a little annoyed with us for being concerned about our vacations when they were having a hard time just getting though every day stuff, so I completely understood. I was also sensitive to this while waiting in line to check in at POFQ. There were some FL residents who were ahead of us looking for some relief...running water, power and especially air conditioning , so I asked if they needed to save the rooms for those that had to evacuate, the manager said, not to worry, they had plenty of cancellations and it wasn't a problem. Everyone was very polite and friendly. We had a great time.

 

[phamton]

Sorry, hurricane alley is not in the Tampa Bay Area. Try Miami. We live in the lightning capital of the world. GO LIGHTNING!

Well, it is the lightning capitial of the United States but Africa has you beat for the lightning capital of the world.


http://www.floridadisaster.org/HWA/lightning.htm

"Florida’s unique location, surrounded by warm water, provides the necessary ingredients for thunderstorms to form. It has earned us the title of “Lightning Capital of the U.S.” Other places in the world have even more lightning though. According to a NASA study, there are areas in the tropics of Africa, Asia, and South and Central America that have more lightning then Florida does. Rwanda, a country in Africa, is known as the lightning capital of the world."

http://www.floridaenvironment.com/programs/fe00703.htm

"Florida has more lightning than any other state in the United States. In an area from Tampa to Orlando, down the West Coast, there can be as many as 50 lightnings per square mile per year."

Maybe you've heard Florida referred to as lightning capital of the world? Not true. Because Florida's summer doesn't last all year...

"There are other places around the world that have more lightning than we do -- for example, Tampa has lightning about 90 days a year, which is basically almost every day in the summer -- some parts of the world that are tropical have lightning all year round. It's always summer."

 

[SamanthaR]

Well, it is the lightning capitial of the United States but Africa has you beat for the lightning capital of the world.

I didn't think anybody would notice this thread.

Thank for your effort and spending some time with your reply. You stand correct on that but we still have the Stanley Cup (not beat). GO TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING!! (hockey team)