Instead of just Googling articles that aim to disprove the myth, try Googling "why is Sarasota so safe from hurricanes".
Why is Sarasota usually spared?
A recent
article by the Herald-Tribune examined many myths on how Sarasota is able to typically ward off hurricanes, including Native American folklore. The graph below shows only five hurricane strength storms have tracked within 35 miles of downtown Sarasota. This is remarkably low compared to the east coast of Florida and other parts of the Gulf of Mexico. Could
crystals really be keeping Sarasota safe?
There is a more likely, and more scientific, reason why hurricanes do not make it to Sarasota. The typical tracks (image below, credit: NOAA) during September show a northwest moving ‘hurricane highway’ through the Bahamas and the Yucatan Channel. Then, the hurricane curves towards the northeast. Notice the “hole” in tracks over Cuba. Cuba is a major inhibitor of tropical systems. The increased elevation of the mountains disrupts the moist low level inflow. This is the hurricane’s lifeblood. The curve of the prevailing track to hit Sarasota (dashed white line) would have to proceed over most of Cuba, significantly weakening any storm (and possibly altering track). Therefore, a direct hit to Sarasota requires an unlikely sharp curve towards the east. Another scenario often seen is a landfall on the east coast of Florida, weakening the storm, and preventing Sarasota from getting the worst of it.
Another site had this to say:
There are some theories and local superstitions as to why
the city of Sarasota has not had a direct hit from a storm since record keeping began back in 1871; the wildest one has to do with American Indian Spirits that still protect the area. These are what are known as “Urban Legends.” The record books say that Sarasota did take on varying degrees of damage from hurricanes in 1926, 1944 and 1950. Others say that the Sarasota area is safe due to Mother Nature’s placement of the sand dunes on the coastal beaches, or the magic powers of Siesta Key’s white sand beaches and underwater crystals. Whatever reason people believe, we
have stayed safe from these potentially monster storms along the Sarasota Sun Coast for quite a number of years.
If you are curious about how Sarasota survived Irma, here are 4 links that explain what happened, the legend of our Sarasota’s storm safety, and its history with hurricanes.
1. An explanation about why Sarasota “lucked out”, from
Sarasota Magazine, and
2. Prevailing hurricane tracks throw up significant road blocks for Sarasota in
BestWeatherInc.
3. A
Herald Tribune article from 2007 on the Sarasota storm-safety legend…
4. An article about historic hurricanes from the past found at
SarasotaHistoryAlive
