Are there a lot of hurricanes in West palm beach, Florida?

Question

I was thinking of moving there, but i just read somewhere that there are a lot of hurricanes. Is that true? I'm getting nervous.

How bad are the hurricanes? I saw west palm beach on the map, and it's like a thin strip right on the atlantic ocean. looks dangerous, i don't know.

Answer 1

Dont Listen To These People Man I've Lived In West Palm Florida My Whole Life The Last Hurricane Hit About 3 or 4 Years Ago You've Got Nothing To Worry About.

But West Palm Beach Is Filled With Crime. Murders, Carjackings, Etc. If I Was you I Would Go Farther North Out Of Palm Beach County Im Trying To Get Out Of Here At The Moment

Answer 2

It's a tough question to answer, because most places only keep track of where the center of a hurricane hit, not a map of all areas affected by hurricane conditions.  For instance, this link (http://www.met.fsu.edu/explores/Tropical... ) shows graphs of hurricane landfalls for different counties on the FL east coast.  Palm Beach County saw 13 landfalling hurricanes between 1900-1996, or about  1 every 7 years on average.  Four of those were major hurricanes (category 3 or greater), or about 1/3 of the hurricanes.  But Hurricane Andrew (1992) likely caused some damage in West Palm Beach...but because the center made landfall in Miami-Dade County, it isn't included.

Just from my experience, SE Florida is hit by a hurricane every 2-4 years...occasionally with  multiple hitting.  You can probably count on a major hurricane once every 5-7 years.  That doesn't mean West Palm Beach takes a direct hit that frequently (afterall, the last direct hit looks like it was in 1979), but it certainly is impacted to some degree.  

The best you can do is be educated and prepared.  Take all recommended precautions.  Have a hurricane saftey kit in your home.  Have a plan in mind in case you need to evacuate (what will you take? what is the evacuation plan/route for you particular area?  when will you leave?  where will you go?).  It wouldn't hurt to have things like plywood/nails at your house, so you don't have to rush out and try to find those things should a hurricane threaten.  Always keep up to date on the weather forecast during hurricane season.  Talk to neighbors and locals to get their experiences and stories.  Know whether your area is at threat for storm surge, or just winds.  Above all else, don't take chances should a hurricane threaten.

In my opinion, I wouldn't move there unless I absolutely had to for a job...or I knew I had enough money to restart my life should a hurricane destroy my house.

Answer 3

Florida does see a somewhat higher threat from tropical systems since it basically sticks out southward across some of the general tracks of these systems.  West Palm Beach is not necessarily riskier than any other portion of Florida, and many years does not see any hurricanes.  On the other hand, they do get affected by tropical systems once in a while.  Like any other place that can get tropical systems, the further inland you are, the better, at least as far as the winds and storm surges are concerned.