How do hurricanes/storms affect The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel?
While storms certainly can cause damage to our area, they are part of an important environmental cycle that produces some very beneficial effects. These include: • Depositing sand atop and on the backside of barrier islands, which elevates them, keeping islands from becoming a sand bar. Barrier islands need hurricanes for their survival, as it’s during hurricanes that islands get higher and wider. • Helping to scrub harmful algae from coral reefs. • Pruning dead limbs from trees and allowing sunlight to penetrate to lower levels. • Refilling the aquifer. • Increasing water for wildlife. Dried out wetlands are rehydrated and come back to life. • Increasing habitat for the endangered scrub jays, which benefit from downed trees. • Moderating global temperatures. HURRICANE-RELATED RESOURCES There are a variety of trustworthy sources of weather information that you can consult when trying to make decisions regarding travel in the event of a tropical storm or hurricane. Real-time advisories
