[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

The last hurricane that did any damage in The Villages are was in 2004 and the damage was minor. The last tornado that we experienced was in 2007. Before that a tornado hadn't hit this area in over fifty years.

It is extremely rare that a hurricane will do much damage this far inland. Can it happen? Yes, of course. As Shimpy related a storm that is huge can cut across the entire state, but that usually happens in the southern part of the state.

The weather forecasters hurricane people will get everyone all riled up about hurricanes. They will have everyone running out and buy emergency supplies and weather radios. But, in fact, we have no had a damaging hurricane here in over ten years.

We went to the hurricane seminar a few years ago and listen to all the information. We put together a plastic box with water and canned goods and a few other supplies. We bought a weather radio which I unplugged after a few months. I was getting tired of being wakened at 3:00 am because the temperatures might drop below freezing.

I realized that the people at the hurricane seminar are there to sell hurricane related merchandise. They do it by scaring people over the dangers.

The reality is that although it's a good idea to be prepared, hurricanes in this area are extremely rare.

Tornadoes on the other hand are unpredictable and can pop up anywhere. Like I said, two in Massachusetts in the past two years. Who would think that?