JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It has been an active stretch for hurricanes in Florida in the past seven years.
The Sunshine State has been grazed or struck by six hurricanes since 2016.
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But one city has escaped the hurricane strikes — Miami.
The South Florida city has not seen the worst of any of the recent hurricanes, and it’s a remarkable streak.
Activity statewide
The recent uptick in activity has not just impacted the Florida Peninsula, but the entire state.
The first strike in this busy era was Hurricane Hermine, which made landfall in the Big Bend region of the state. Hermine was the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma hit Southwest Florida in 2005.
Later in the year, Hurricane Matthew stayed just off the east coast of Florida. The storm still produced significant damage across much of East-Central and Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville.
In 2017, the blockbuster Hurricane Irma rolled across much of the state. Irma made landfall in mainland Florida in Marco Island. While most of the state dealt with impacts, Irma stayed just southwest and west of Miami.
During the 2018 season, the Florida Peninsula escaped major activity, but the Panhandle did not. Hurricane Michael roared ashore near Mexico Beach, Florida, as a powerful Category 5 hurricane.
In 2019, Hurricane Dorian destroyed portions of the Bahamas. Despite the very close call, Dorian lifted northward and stayed away of the Miami area.
This year, the headline is clearly Hurricane Ian, which slammed Southwest Florida in late September. Once again, South Florida escaped the activity.
Close calls
While Miami and much of South Florida have escaped the worst, they have had close calls.
Four hurricanes, all of them major hurricanes, tracked within 150 miles of the city.
The National Hurricane Center had placed Miami in the forecast cone at some point for all four of these hurricanes.
Irma created such a concern for South Florida in 2017 that thousands of residents evacuated the region.
While the region has avoided the worst, Miami has seen some impacts from hurricanes.
Irma produced significant storm surge and flooding in portions of downtown Miami in 2017. A rainband from Ian produced a tornado causing damage in Broward County, just north of Miami.
Some good luck
What is so remarkable about Miami dodging hurricanes is it is the most hurricane-prone major city in Florida and the United States.
Miami is highly susceptible to hurricanes due to its low latitude and the near-constant easterly winds that develop during the rainy season.
This combination often helps drive tropical systems westward toward South Florida.
Miami also receives no protection from any nearby landmasses. While the Bahamas can help provide some weakening of hurricanes, there are no mountains on the island chain to disrupt the structure of the storm.
History has also shown South Florida has been struck far more often than the rest of the state.
It has simply been good luck that Miami and South Florida have escaped the worst of these storms and bad luck that other parts of the state have seen some of the worst.