Tropical storms are always a concern for Florida residents. However, St Augustine and the surrounding beaches are protected by geography. This area lies in a sheltered coastal indent that is the furthest west of any point on the Eastern coast of the United States.
FACT: St Augustine is almost as far west as Akron, Ohio!
This is why the Spaniards selected St Augustine as their principal seaport and base of operations in the New World. They observed that this area had the only large trees on the Southeast and Gulf Coasts (Live Oaks) that still had all their limbs.
St Augustine has had ONE significant storm (weak Category 3) in the last 100 years.Coastal Massachusetts has more major hurricanes. There are a number of wood-framed homes on the beach built over a hundred years ago that are still standing.
