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General Weather/Earth Sciences Topics => Weather Folklore => Topic started by: gfmucci on January 08, 2016, 03:46:23 PM

Title: Chief Osceola and his hurricane prediction method...
Post by: gfmucci on January 08, 2016, 03:46:23 PM
Old Florida was Seminole country.  Chief Osceola didn't become chief because of his looks - well, maybe looks, too.  He also knew stuff.  Like he was successful at predicting when hurricanes would strike Florida.  South Florida normally has millions of land crabs burrowed into the Mangroves and Palmetto scrub lands.  But Chief Osceola observed hoards of land crabs appeared just before his homeland was struck by severe stroms.  So he became famous for predicting hurricanes via Land Crab. 

Having lived in South Florida during hurricanes of the early '50's I can vouch for the fact of land crabs covering rural roads by the thousands, and remember the smell of those crushed critters just days before being hit by storms.

These are the storms I remember during that period (from Wikipedia) ...

September 5, 1950– Hurricane Easy moves ashore near Cedar Key and later near Tampa Bay as a major hurricane after looping offshore. The hurricane causes locally heavy damage in a sparsely populated area, totaling $3.3 million (1950 USD, $29.5 million 2008 USD). Due to its erratic motion,[2] Easy drops heavy rainfall peaking at 38.7 inches (983 mm) in Yankeetown,[3] which in turn causes 2 indirect deaths from electrocution.[2]

October 18, 1950– Hurricane King makes landfall on Miami as a major hurricane. Its hurricane force winds blows out the windows of many buildings in downtown Miami, resulting in several injuries. Across the state, the storm causes 3 deaths and heavy damage totaling $27.8 million (1950 USD, $249 million 2008 USD), of which over half occurred in the Miami area.

I remember as a young child my dad visiting an employee the morning after hurricane King past through that evening.  The employee lived in a mobile home park in Hollywood.  His house trailer was cut in half; their family was having breakfast in the remaining exposed half as I viewed it from inside our parked car -  a visual one would never forget.

That was the season of the Land Crab.  Chief Osceola would have predicted King.  The "crab" storm prediction method is at least as good as modern forecasting.  Maybe better.
Title: Re: Chief Osceola and his hurricane prediction method...
Post by: chief-david on January 08, 2016, 04:56:21 PM
Firm believe in watching the animals and feeling inside the body for weather and earthquakes.