September Hurricanes ?

[tiggerfan]

I have been reading that this is supposed to be a bad year for storms.

While obviously they are largely guessing, how is September in terms of weather in Orlando ?

Looking at a mid month trip and would like to avoid spending it in a storm shelter if possible....

[flynnibus]

The daily rains are pretty much over by then I think... but that is still hurricane season. Honestly no one can predict them long term. But the thing going for Orlando is its virtually in the center of the land. So you'll get wind and rain, but nothing like a what many think a hurricane can do except in rare occasions. The 4 storm season awhile back was pretty unusual for the Orlando area.

[aimster]

The rainstorms still happen but not every day like June-August. At least a few times a week. September is the "peak" of hurricane season though. But it's just hard to say what will happen. They said last year was supposed to be another crazy season and there was pretty much nothing. The Atlantic coast got hit by Tropical Storm Alberto and caused some flooding in Broward & Miami-Dade counties but that's it.

[Touchdown]

As you can see below early September is the height of hurricane season in the Atlantic.

[PhotoMatt]

This link is from weather.com http://www.weather.com/outlook/trave...nthly/USFL0372

Normal weather first - without hurricanes or tropical storms the weather is easy to predict. 92 or 93 during the day, 72 to 75 at night. Mornings are usually very sunny and extremely hot. You can burn in minutes without sunscreen. Humidity is high 24 hours a day. It can feel more humid at night. As the day progresses puffy cotton ball clouds form. They can provide some brief moments of shade, but more often than not they just tease. Then, it's a coin flip each afternoon. Some days the clouds don't get bigger and there is no rain, and sometimes the clouds continue to develop and you get thunderstorms. The storms usually only last an hour or so and that's it. They cool things off briefly, but the humidity cancels that out after awhile.

Now, about the hurricanes - I can tell you that I live very close to Disney property and I have seen several hurricanes and tropical storms and the effect they have. For example, within hours after Hurricane Charley all of the major roads on Disney property were cleared. I don't think the parks opened the next day, but the restaurants at the hotels were. By the next day it was amazing to see how quickly things had returned to normal on Disney property. Yes, there were downed trees in unused areas that they still have not cleared up years later, but the point is that vacationers were only minimally affected. Since I live so close to Disney I really don't have to worry about hurricanes (under Category 2) as much as someone who lives in Downtown Orlando because Disney needs to feed all of the guests who choose to stay. It is always easy for me to find a place to eat after a hurricane because I just go to Disney property. It's also the place I go to buy gas when all of the other gas stations are closed. I have to tell you it really is amazing how much Disney works to "erase" the effects of hurricanes after the fact.

In summary, if you are REALLY concerned about hurricanes then come in November or later. It is also cooler then. Another option is to buy trip insurance, so if you have to cancel you won't lose anything. I tend to be more of a risk taker so I don't even worry about things like hurricanes. I know Orlando got hit with 3 in a row a few years ago, but I think it will be years before we see another serious one - there are just so many other places they can go.

I hope this helps. I guess I could shorten all of the above to "roll the dice", but I think the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor.

[PhotoMatt]

According to the graph in a previous post, it says there is an average of one hurricane in September every other year for the last 100 years.

The Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico are really, really big, so even though it is likely there will be a hurricane or tropical storm in September, it still has to make its way to Orlando. The odds of that are pretty slim on a year to year basis.

[Keeper]

Look at early November for your trip. Lower attendance at the parks and the Gulf Stream is cooling down so the risk of a big storm is much lower. Trust me... I'm a lighthouse keeper. :-)

[tiggerfan]

I would wait until November, in fact my original plan was to go in December 2008.

But the free Dining Plan/cheap room deals were just too good to pass up.

[molarman]

We went in September and were in Orlando the day Hurricaine Jeanne passed over Orlando. We stayed in our hotel all day, but the next day, the Magic Kingdom opened only an hour late (I think Animal Kingdom and MGM was closed the 2nd day), but Epcot and MK were open. We did see where they had to chainsaw some trees down on property, but for the most part, it was all cleaned up and business as usual. The best thing, it was not crowded at all the first day after the hurricaine.

Don't worry, enjoy your visit in September, because the Free Food and lower crowds can't be beat!

[jaxpooh]

We were there in August of 2004 when Hurricane Charlie hit Orlando. The parks closed around 2 that day, around 4 or so the hotel (POFQ) sent out a mass message that they were sending their employees home by 6:30 so come eat if you were planning to, and after that time it was like a ghost town around there. Even though Orlando took a direct hit it wasn't THAT bad on property. The parks opened back up by 10:00 the next day, just had some shows etc not operating because all the staff could not make it back. We saw campers everywhere, apparently Fort Wilderness was great and put all their campers up in moderate hotels for safety, even giving food and clothing vouchers as needed. I look at it this way, if you are going to be in the middle of a hurriane, why not be at the happiest place on earth<G>.

Side note, I have pictures of some of the hurricane prep at Magic as well as some of the damage to POFQ if anyone is interested.

[tiggerfan]

I'd love to see some pictures.

And if I am gonna experience a hurricane, WDW would be a fun place to do it. A little part of me wouldn't mind having the experience, but most of me would just rather avoid it.

[flynnibus]

Hurricanes are overrated 'experiences'. 99% of the time and for most people its just a windy rain storm.

The 'devastation' you see on TV normally is a VERY small area or the places directly on the waterfront.. where its the storm surge that does most of the damage. The widespread stuff is pretty rare and for the biggest storms.

Its the people worried about flooding that have the most concerns.

Never been through a hurricane? not missing anything

[tiggerfan]

Well like I said, its a very small part of me that wished that, I much prefer nice weather the whole time

[jaxpooh]

If I can figure out how to post pictures I wil add some when I get home from work tonight.

[SkittleKicks]

Charley as the exception, by the time hurricanes make it to Orlando, most of their power has dissipated and you're left with a windy and rainy storm. Really, the ones that blow over are less obnoxious than the ones that sit off the edge of the coast. (Hurricane Frances, I'm looking at you). Disney has a pretty darn stable power system, so you should be just fine.