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Monroe County is a county in the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 82,874. Its county seat is Key West. Monroe County includes the islands of the Florida Keys and comprises the Key West-Key Largo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Over 99.9% of the county's population lives on the Florida Keys. The mainland, which is part of the Everglades, comprises 87% of the county's land area and is virtually uninhabited with only 17 people recorded in the 2020 census.
Islamorada is an incorporated village in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located directly between Miami and Key West on five islands—Tea Table Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Windley Key and Plantation Key—in the Florida Keys. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 7,107, up from 6,119 in 2010.
Marathon is a city in the middle of the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 9,689, up from 8,297 in 2010.
Tavernier is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Monroe County, Florida, United States on Key Largo, the largest island in the upper Florida Keys. Tavernier's population was 2,530 at the 2020 census, up from 2,136 in 2010.
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. The southern part of Key West is 93 miles (150 km) from Cuba. The Keys are located between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.
The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane was an extremely powerful and devastating Atlantic hurricane that struck the southeastern United States in early September 1935. For several decades it was: the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of barometric pressure, until surpassed by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988; the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of 1-minute sustained winds, until surpassed by Hurricane Allen in 1980; and the strongest at landfall by 1-minute sustained winds, until it was tied by Hurricane Dorian in 2019. The fourth tropical cyclone, third tropical storm, second hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1935 Atlantic hurricane season, it is one of four Category 5 hurricanes on record to strike the contiguous United States, along with Hurricane Camille (1969), Hurricane Andrew (1992), and Hurricane Michael (2018).
The Overseas Highway is a 113-mile (181.9 km) highway carrying U.S. Route 1 (US 1) through the Florida Keys to Key West. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially destroyed in the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the destroyed sections, so the roadbed and remaining bridges were sold to the state of Florida for $640,000.
Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the ten most intense Atlantic hurricanes in terms of barometric pressure, Wilma was the twenty-second storm, thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, fourth Category 5 hurricane, and the second-most destructive hurricane of the 2005 season. Its origins came from a tropical depression that formed in the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica on October 15, headed westward, and intensified into a tropical storm two days later, which abruptly turned southward and was named Wilma. Wilma continued to strengthen, and eventually became a hurricane on October 18. Shortly thereafter, explosive intensification occurred, and in only 24 hours, Wilma became a Category 5 hurricane with wind speeds of 185 mph (298 km/h).
Hurricane Irene produced somewhat heavy damage across southern Florida in October 1999. The ninth named storm and the sixth hurricane of the season, Irene developed in the western Caribbean Sea on October 13 from a tropical wave. It moved northward, hitting western Cuba before attaining hurricane status. Irene struck Florida on October 15 as a Category 1 on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, first at Key West and later near Cape Sable. The storm moved across the state and tracked northward over the Gulf Stream. It approached the Carolinas but remained offshore. Irene turned eastward and significantly intensified into a strong Category 2 hurricane on October 18. By the following day, the system became extratropical due to cooler waters to the southeast of Newfoundland and was quickly absorbed by another extratropical low.
Plantation Key is an island in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located in the upper Florida Keys on U.S. 1, between Key Largo and Windley Key.
Plantation Key, Florida is a former census-designated place on Plantation Key in the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located just South of the Tavernier bridge and North of the Snake Creek bridge and was reported to have a population of 4,405 in 1990. It became part of the Village of Islamorada when the latter incorporated in 1997.
Windley Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys in Monroe County, Florida, United States. U.S. 1 crosses it at approximately mile markers 84–85.5, between Plantation Key and Upper Matecumbe Key. All of the key is within the Village of Islamorada as of November 4, 1997, when it was incorporated.
The effects of Hurricane Wilma in Florida resulted in the storm becoming one of the costliest tropical cyclones in Florida history. Wilma developed in the Caribbean Sea just southwest of Jamaica on October 15 from a large area of disturbed weather. After reaching tropical storm intensity on October 17 and then hurricane status on October 18, the system explosively deepened, peaking as the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Wilma then slowly weakened while trekking to the northwest and fell to Category 4 intensity by the time it struck the Yucatán Peninsula on October 22. Thereafter, a strong cold front swept the storm northeastward into Florida on October 24, with landfall occurring near Cape Romano as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph (190 km/h). Wilma continued rapidly northeastward into the Atlantic Ocean and became extratropical on October 26.
The effects of Hurricane Katrina in Florida were in both the southern portion of the state and in the panhandle. After developing on August 23, Katrina made landfall near the border of Broward and Miami-Dade counties with 80 mph (130 km/h) winds on August 25. While it was crossing the state, the hurricane's convection was asymmetrical, primarily located to the south and east of the center. As a result, high rainfall totals occurred in the Miami area, peaking at 16.43 in (417 mm) in Perrine. The rains caused flooding, and the combination of rains and winds downed trees and power lines, leaving 1.45 million people without power. Damage in South Florida was estimated at $523 million (2005 USD), mostly as a result of crop damage. Further south, the hurricane spawned a tornado in the Florida Keys. In the island chain, Katrina caused heavy rainfall and gusty winds.
The South Florida Council is a 501(c)(3) organization chartered by the Boy Scouts of America to serve Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties in South Florida. As of 2022, the South Florida Council had a membership of more than 20,000 youth and adults in traditional and in-school and after-school programs. The South Florida Council is Platinum rated charity by Guidestar and a Four out of Four-star rated charity by Charity Navigator.
The 1899 Carrabelle hurricane caused significant damage in the Dominican Republic and the Florida Panhandle. The second tropical cyclone and second hurricane of the 1899 Atlantic hurricane season, the storm was first observed south of the Dominican Republic on July 28, 1899. Shortly thereafter, it made landfall in Azua Province, Dominican Republic with an intensity equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Early on July 29, the system weakened to a tropical storm, shortly before emerging into the Atlantic Ocean. It then moved west-northwestward and remained at the same intensity for the next 24 hours. The storm made landfall near Islamorada, Florida on July 30. It then brushed Southwest Florida before emerging into the Gulf of Mexico. The storm began to re-intensify on July 31 and became a hurricane later that day. Early on August 1, it peaked with winds of 100 mph (155 km/h), several hours before making landfall near Apalachicola, Florida at the same intensity. The storm quickly weakened inland and dissipated over Alabama on August 2.
A hurricane local statement (HLS) is a weather statement produced for the public by the local Weather Forecast Offices of the National Weather Service in the U.S. for areas affected or forecast to be affected by a tropical storm or hurricane that provides an overview of the storm's local effects, including expected weather conditions, evacuation decisions made by local officials, and precautions necessary to protect life and property. The National Weather Services considers the HLS to be the "flagship product" available to Weather Forecast Offices for outlining tropical cyclone watches and warnings and impacts, and is their most visible product during such events. Descriptions of the affected areas, relevant tropical cyclone watches and warnings, recommendations for precautionary measures, and expected timing and severity of possible threats are typically included in an HLS. The HLS can incorporate projected impacts from pre-written descriptions tailored for different storm intensities; these template descriptions were developed in the 1990s and became widely available to forecasters for use in the HLS by 2001. The bulletin issued by the Weather Forecast Office in Slidell, Louisiana, as Hurricane Katrina approached on August 28, 2005, known as "The Bulletin", was lauded by the National Weather Service as having further encouraged vulnerable individuals to evacuate. Not all forecast offices can issue an HLS.
The Key West Library, also known as the Monroe County May Hill Russell Library is main branch of the Monroe County Library System and is based in Key West, Florida. There are five branches that make up the Monroe County Library System and the Key West Library has been part of Key West island life for more than 50 years. The Key West Library is the southernmost branch of the Monroe County Public Library and is one of the oldest libraries in the state of Florida. The Key West Library serves more than a quarter of a million visitors annually.
The Monroe County Public LibrarySystem is a public library system located in Monroe County, Florida, which includes the Florida Keys. The system has five branches located in Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine, and Key West. The Monroe County Public Library system aims to "serve the educational, recreational and informational needs and interests" of the communities of the Florida Keys.
Hurricane Ian was a deadly and extremely destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, which was the third-costliest weather disaster on record worldwide, the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, and the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Michael in 2018. Ian caused widespread damage across western Cuba, Florida, and the Carolinas. Ian was the ninth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. Ian was the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic since Lorenzo in 2019.
References
- ↑ Bertelli, Brad. “Keys History: Islamorada Library Was More than Book Shelves.” Florida Keys Weekly Newspapers, 27 June 2023, keysweekly.com/42/keys-history-islamorada-library-was-more-than-book-shelves/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.
- ↑ “Library Locations.” Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys, keyslibraries.org/islamorada/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.