Dear Tom,
Hurricane Felix affected Aruba as it headed for Central America. IM-9ve always heard that Aruba doesn’t get hurricanes? Was Felix unusual?
Thanks, George Woodward
Dear George,
Most Atlantic hurricanes develop between latitudes 10-20 (degrees) N and the island of Aruba lies at the south end of that belt at latitude 12.5 (degrees) N. While Aruba and neighboring islands of Bonaire and Curacao enjoy a reduced tropical cyclone threat because of their southern locale, they do experience hurricanes and tropical storms, receiving major damage about once every 100 years. In recent years the “ABC” islands have been affected by tropical storms Joan (1988), Bret (1993) and Cesar (1996) with Joan responsible for more than a million dollars of damage and considerable flooding. In 2004 Aruba dodged a major bullet when it was just brushed by Category 4 Hurricane Ivan sustaining only minor damage.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
