Tampa Bay Emptied

If Tampa lucks out today, it won't have a repeat of what happened almost a century ago (Oct. 18, 1910).

A hurricane — just a generic one because they didn't have names back then — moved up Florida's west coast. The winds in the northwestern section of the storm were blowing northeast to southwest. As the hurricane reached Tampa, the water in Tampa Bay began surging southwestward, out into the Gulf of Mexico.

Wind in that 1910 hurricane was estimated at 125 miles per hour. The longer the wind kept up, the more water was forced away from Tampa into the Gulf.

As the bay partially emptied, it got shallower. Too shallow. Before long, there wasn't enough water to float ships: forty ships were grounded.

Tampa Bay virtually emptied.

As the song says, it goes to show you never can tell.

Brad Messer, commentary, KTSA.