South Florida

Five ways storms changed Florida during the 2024 hurricane season

Stories by Miami Herald journalists, with AI summarization

The 2024 hurricane season tested Florida.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton brought catastrophic storm surges, record-breaking rainfall and widespread inland flooding.

Communities grappled with evacuation and failures. Unprepared college students and inland residents reflected on the need for better planning and education.

Let's take a look at the 2024 hurricane season before the next one starts.

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.

Hurricane Helene is now a Category 3 storm.

NO. 1: HURRICANE HELENE MAKES FLORIDA LANDFALL. GULF COAST BATTERED AND FLOODED, AT LEAST 1 DEAD

Hurricane Helene has killed at least one person so far. | Published September 26, 2024 | Read Full Story by Alex Harris

A truck treads the water in Suwannee, Fla., as seen from the air Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, following Hurricane Helene’s landfall as a category 4 storm Thursday night. (Diego Perdomo/WUFT News)

NO. 2: ‘GET THE HECK OUT OF THERE’: OUT-OF-STATE COLLEGE STUDENTS SCRAMBLED TO AVOID HELENE

Where do you go when home is thousands of miles away? | Published October 3, 2024 | Read Full Story by Sophia Bailly

NBC-6 Hurricane Specialist John Morales

NO. 3: MIAMI METEOROLOGIST CHOKES UP AFTER SEEING HURRICANE MILTON ON RADAR: ‘JUST HORRIFIC’

John Morales has been covering storms for decades | Published October 7, 2024 | Read Full Story by Madeleine Marr

Brian Zoller and Cristie Caseman had water intrusion in their garage and pantry from Hurricane Idalia in their home along Riverside Drive East in Bradenton. By Tiffany Tompkins

NO. 4: WHAT CAN A CAT 3 HURRICANE DO TO FLORIDA? TAKE A LOOK AS MILTON TARGETS THE GULF COAST

What to know about what can happen from Milton. | Published October 8, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jason Dill

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers ride a flats boat through the flooded N 12th St in North Tampa, on Thursday, October 10, 2024, a day after Hurricane Milton crossed Florida’s Gulf Coast. By Pedro Portal

NO. 5: HURRICANE MILTON BROUGHT A SHOCKING DELUGE. THE REASON WHY DOESN’T BODE WELL FOR FLORIDA

‘Hurricanes are more intense, they’re wetter and seem to be moving at a slower pace.’ | Published October 18, 2024 | Read Full Story by Ashley Miznazi Ana Claudia Chacin

This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists in our News division.