Coastal Georgia Is Not Immune: Hurricane History, 1851–2012

Hurricanes approaching the North American Atlantic seaboard have two common tracks: either they approach from the southeast, curve northwards, and then travel in a northeasterly direction (e.g., Hurricane Donna inl960, Hurricane Gloria in 1985), or they approach directly from an easterly direction and impact the coast nearly perpendicularly (e.g., Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Hurricane Diane in 1955, Hurricane Gracie in 1959, Hurricane Betsy in 1965). Since Hurricane Hugo in 1989, hurricanes tracking along the Atlantic coast and offshore of Georgia, in particular, have tended to exhibit a high degree of recurvature and hence do not make landfall along the Georgia coast. According to 2011 U.S. Census Bureau data, 271,544 people reside in Chatham County, which encompasses Savannah, Tybee Island, Pooler, Bloomingdale, Garden City, and Port Wentworth.