Famous and Infamous Florida Weather

When we moved to Florida, it was in the middle of summer. Typically, it would rain most afternoons, tropical downpours which would last only a short time and then the sun would come out again...
In October, the weather "breaks", that is, it ceases to be quite so humid and the temperatures are in the balmy 80s, and for the first time, in the 60s at night, instead of the 70s and occasionally 80s...This is the reason for living here, I think. The rains let up, the sky is a beautiful blue, the hurricanes have pretty much left...gorgeous!
Did I mention hurricanes? In recent "hurricane seasons", we have witnessed quite a few "close calls" (thank goodness we never had a direct hit)...the memorable year of 2005, when there were 3 or 4 hurricanes, including the horrific Charley, we were very fortunate to have had virtually no damage while those around us were not so lucky. Our next-door neighbor lost half his tree, and the people across the street had a solar panel come loose and fly into their pool cage....
As nurses, we were required to either stay in the hospital during the hurricane (and work, of course!) or relieve the people who were in the hospital afterwards. As luck would have it, I always seemed to be on the "relief" team, while Scott was on the "alert" team...the only time I was on the "alert" team, I was at a conference in New Orleans (pre Katrina), so I was unable to come home to fulfill my obligation.
I was rather afraid at times to be at home alone while the wind howled outside. The wind is pretty impressive, worse than any storm I'd seen or been in in New England...and we weren't even directly in the storm! The animals were unsettled, pacing around the house, or hiding in the closet! But we survived, to live another year till the next season!
The first year we were here, we weren't prepared for New Year's Eve...so much of life here is conducted outside, so we were anxious to attend the First Night celebration in downtown Sarasota. The truth was, it was the coldest night of the year, with temperatures bottoming out in the upper 30s. I couldn't believe it could get this cold!!! I was uncomfortable and miserable, even in my New England down jacket! So yes, it DOES get cold here, for roughly two weeks or two months, depending on which year you are talking about....Last winter, for example, it was consistently cold for the better part of January and February, and even most of March! But the year before that, it was only a little chilly for about two weeks....so you never know!
Once April comes along, although there are a couple days that might be called cold, overall, summer is back, ready to settle in until October again!
But that's what I like about Florida weather...all the restaurants have outdoor seating, you can sit and look at the Gulf of Mexico while sipping your drink, and enjoy the nice breeze...there is even a restaurant, a diner-type affair called the Hob Nob, where you can walk right up to the bar from the parking lot, or to a picnic table on the side, for some of the best burgers in town!
We love the summer, when we have the state to ourselves, so we go to the beach, walk into restuarants without a reservation, and just enjoy the sunsets...and less traffic....but we welcome the tourists and snowbirds back so they can spend money here, too!