Florida’s Big Bend Is a Hurricane Magnet, Puzzling Forecasters (2)

For more than a century, Florida’s Taylor County saw the fewest hurricane strikes of any place on the US Gulf Coast. In the last year, that peace has been shattered.

Helene, which has killed more than a hundred people across the South, was the third hurricane to hit the county in roughly the past 13 months. It followed Debby in August and Idalia about a year earlier. Forecasters aren’t sure why the area’s storm activity has surged, but they point to a couple of potential culprits: Hot oceans and La Niña.

The perils of Taylor County highlight a stark ...