Victor Zugg

Daytona Beach Florida is safer from hurricane threats.

You would love to have a home in Florida, if it wasn't for the hurricanes. I'd love to have a home in Montana, if it wasn't for the cold. Every state has its good points and bad points. But with all things considered Florida is a pretty good place to live, even with the hurricanes.

And believe it or not there are coastal regions of Florida with a relatively low risk of being hit directly. By directly I mean being hit by the eye of a hurricane directly from the water. The wall of the eye has the highest wind velocity and is at its strongest just before it makes landfall. After landfall velocity drops rapidly.

The safest coastal region in Florida is the stretch between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville on the east coast. The probability of being hit by a hurricane in this coastal region ranges from 1 in 50 for Daytona to 1 in 100 for Jacksonville. the probability of being hit in Miami is 1 in 6. These statistics reflect the probability of being hit at all. The chances of a direct hit are even lower. Why is this Daytona to Jacksonville region the least likely to be hit?

Relative to Florida hurricanes follow two basic paths. They either take the "slot" passing above, below, or over Cuba and enter the Gulf of Mexico or they turn north before the slot and follow the east coast of Florida north toward South Carolina and North Carolina.

When they enter the Gulf, historically they are more likely to head west toward Texas or north to the Gulf coast, including Florida's panhandle. Occasionally, they hit Florida's west coast and travel across the state. But as mentioned earlier, velocity drops rapidly over land. So by the time a hurricane reaches the east coast of Florida the storm is much reduced from what it was when it hit the west coast.

The odds are better for Daytona if the storm turns north up the east coast. As a map of Florida depicts, the southern tip extends the furthest east into the Atlantic. This means that as a hurricane travels due north it is further and further from the east coast of Florida. By the time a hurricane reaches parallel with Daytona Beach the storm is a good distance out in the ocean. Additionally, the Gulf Stream, which flows north along Florida's east coast and then turns north east toward North Carolina, helps to carry north bound storms away from Daytona's coast.

Does this all mean Daytona is not affected by hurricanes? Of course not. Even with glancing blows and indirect hits Daytona receives its share of high wind, rain, rising surf, downed trees, and power outages. But these are nothing compared to the devastation that can occur in the more riskier parts of Florida, such as Miami and Homestead with hurricane Andrew or Pensacola with 2004's hurricane Ivan. Throughout history hurricanes have traveled all over and around Florida but none have hit Daytona Beach from the water.

Daytona Beach to Jacksonville is the safest part of coastal Florida hurricane wise. And the people living in Daytona know a little rain and wind are an easy trade for everything else the Daytona area has to offer.

Visit the Daytona Beach official website for more information on the area. Visit Daytona Lifestyles if you're interested in finding a home or a home away from home in the Daytona Beach area.