Some info on Belize storms from my website.

--Lan Sluder

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Number of storms making landfall in Belize since 1889
In the past 119 years since weather records in Belize were first formally maintained, Belize has seen the following storms make landfall:
� 21 hurricanes -- average of about 1 hurricane every 5.7 years
� 31 tropical storms - average of 1 tropical storm every 3.8 years
� 52 total hurricanes and tropical storms - average of 1 hurricane or tropical storm every 2.3 years

Of the 21 hurricanes:
� 9 or 43% were in September
� 8 or 38% were in October
� 2 or 10% were in July
� 1 or 5% was in November
� 1 or 5% in August
� 0 or 0% in June

Of the 52 total hurricanes and tropical storms:
� 19 or 37% were in September
� 14 or 27% were in October
� 7 or 13% were in June
� 6 or 12% were in August
� 4 or 8% were in July
� 3 or 6% were in November

(Figures rounded)

Most powerful hurricanes to hit Belize:
� Unnamed hurricane, September 9, 1931, Belize City and Northern Cayes, 110 mph, estimated 2,500-3,000 deaths
� Hurricane Janet, September 28, 1955, Northern Belize, 165 mph, 16 deaths in Belize
� Hurricane Hattie, October 31, 1961, Belize City, 140 mph, estimated 225-310 deaths in Belize
� Hurricane Carmen, September 2, 1974, skirted Northern Belize, 120 mph
� Hurricane Mitch, October 27, 1998, skirted Belize to the south, 155 mph
� Hurricane Keith, October 1, 2000, Ambergris Caye 120 mph, 2 deaths in Belize
� Hurricane Iris, October 9, 2001, Placencia & Southern Belize, 145 mph, 21 deaths in Belize
� Hurricane Dean, August 21, 2007, Northern Belize, 165 mph at landfall in Mexico, lower in Belize
Source: Belize National Meteorological Service, NOAA and other weather records


Odds of a hurricane:
Odds of a hurricane in Belize in a given year: 18%
Odds of a hurricane in Florida in a given year: 68%
Odds of a hurricane on the U.S. Gulf Coast in a given year: 67%
Odds of a hurricane on the U.S. East Coast in a given year: 47%

Note, however, that the length of the coast in Belize (less than 200 miles) is much smaller than the length of the coasts of Florida, the Gulf Coast and the East Coast - for example the East Coast of the U.S. is about 1860 miles in length, so it offers a much greater area for storms to strike







Lan Sluder/Belize First
http://www.belizefirst.com