You’ve been considering it for awhile. Moving to Clearwater, Florida sounds like heaven, but after watching the news about Hurricane Matthew and his path of destruction, you are reconsidering the move. Don’t. Clearwater is a great place to live, and here are some insider secrets to help you make up your mind.
What about hurricanes?
First of all Hurricane Matthew or any of the other “biggies” that hit the East Coast did just that, hit the EAST coast. Clearwater is on the WEST coast of Florida and unless those hurricanes come up the Gulf, they will, at worst, bring rain.
Clearwater doesn’t actually get hit with that many hurricanes. Even the ones that come up the Gulf tend to be out further over the gulf by the time they get even with Clearwater. So give that sigh and calm back down. Your home and property is not as likely to be damaged in a hurricane as if you lived along the East Coast.
However, Florida requires new construction to be built to standards that include measures to make them more likely to withstand a hurricane.
Refreshing afternoon showers
Yes, summers are hot and humid, but the humidity is “released” by quickly passing afternoon storms. It’s really not that much hotter or more humid than other places on the East Coast. Have you been in New York City, Baltimore, Washington DC and further south in the summer? Humidity and high temps are not an aberration. Can you say in the 90’s with 70+% humidity? If you can take that you’ll be fine!
If you’re used to less humidity and heat in the summer, remember that just about everything is air conditioned! Also, all the other months of the year are very temperate. If you think wearing a sweat jacket in January is great, you’ll love it here!
“Snowbirds”
All those “snowbirds” you hear about? You know, the retirees who live in the northeast in the spring, summer and fall, but come south for the folder months? Yes they exist and yes, they make the traffic in the winter months a bit worse, but only from about mid November until March, then life is back to normal. If you’re moving from a high traffic area you won’t even notice it until it’s not there!
A hurricane is a tropical cyclone rotating low-pressure weather system. To be classified as a hurricane it has to have maximum sustained winds of 74 mph. There is a scale with a 1 to 5 rating, or category, based on a hurricane’s maximum sustained winds. The higher the category, the greater the hurricane’s potential for property damage. Hurricane Season begins on June 1st and ends on November 30th, and happen on average, 12 times a year in the Atlantic basin.