- The odds are 1 out of 8 (11.63%) that you live in an area threatened by an Atlantic hurricane.
- The Atlantic Ocean’s hurricane season peaks from mid-August to late October and averages five to six hurricanes per year.
- Key West has not been directly hit by a hurricane since 1919.
In 1281, the Mongol army of Kublai Khan tried to invade Japan but were ravaged by a hurricane that destroyed their fleet.
- Hurricanes are giant, spiraling tropical storms that can pack wind speeds of over 160 miles (257 kilometers) an hour and unleash more than 2.4 trillion gallons (9 trillion liters) of rain a day.
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in 1978 that it would alternate men's and women's names in the naming of hurricanes. It was seen as an attempt at fair play.
- Hurricanes had been named for women for years, until NOAA succumbed to pressure from women's groups who were demanding that Atlantic storms be given unisex names.
