Only four other metropolitan areas in the nation are more overdue to take a direct hit this year from a major hurricane than the Tampa Bay region, at least according to a ranking from The Weather Channel.
The Bay area came in at No. 5 in the channel's top five most overdue to be struck based on how long it has been since a Category 3 or stronger storm made a direct hit. A Category 3 has winds of at least 111 mph.
For the Tampa area, that's been 90 years. An unnamed storm swept ashore around Tarpon Springs in October 1921 with winds estimated at about 120 mph.
Despite 90 years since the last major strike, there's an identical chance of the Bay area being hit this year as there was last year or will be next year, said Tom Iovino, Pinellas County spokesman for emergency management.
"The chance for being hit stays the same every year," he said.
The region's 90 years was enough to rank only fifth on the list. The top overdue area was Honolulu because there are no records of that Hawaiian island city ever taking a direct hit.
The five, ranked by Rick Knabb, the channel's hurricane expert area:
1. Honolulu, no record of a major strike
2. San Diego, last struck in 1858.
3. New York City, last struck in 1893.
4. Savannah, Ga., last struck in 1893.
5. Tampa, last struck in 1921.
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