Hurricane season in Sarasota starts June 1 and ends officially on November 30 every year.
Sarasota history books show that the city rarely suffers direct hurricane hits.
Some hold the belief that Sarasota is protected from hurricanes because the Native Americans who first settled there knew that it was safe from the elements.
Others believe that they blessed the lands to stay eternally safe from destructive storms and hurricanes. Still others think that it’s an ancient Indian burial ground on the lands of Sarasota that keeps it protected.
Now, as you might imagine, these Sarasota Indian myths have been put under scrutiny. Pretty much everyone who studies Native American beliefs or culture say that no such legends exist.
Local archeologists say that they are myths passed around by word of mouth rather than any reality regarding Native American culture.
There is no question, however, that Sarasota has had relatively good fortune regarding hurricanes for nearly a century for some reason.
The Indian Burial Ground Legend in Sarasota By Stacy Hanan | October 11, 2017
Herald-Tribune article: What do hurricane winds actually feel like? Sarasota has no idea (August 29, 2023)
Chronology of hurricanes affecting St. Armands:
1848 - present
1888 - present
September 10, 1960
June 9, 1966
June 19, 1972
September 10, 2017
September 28, 2022
August 30, 2023
Hurricane Idalia passed far enough to our west that there was no significant wind impact, but it happened to coincide with a "king tide" event resulting in significant flooding on the streets of St. Armands that persisted a full day in some sections. We estimate that there was a 3-4' storm surge on top of the unusually high tide. This was probably the most significant flooding event on St. Armands since Hurricane Donna in 1960 (63 years ago). Observer article , Herald-Tribune article , Wikipedia