God’s Pocket

‘God’s Pocket’ is a term that meteorologists use for Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches. Why is this?

Usually the Gulf Stream moves away from the Atlantic Coast south of here and carries hurricanes around us. Also the ocean at Flagler Beach is shallow out to about 30 miles, which cannot feed a hurricane. No hurricane had ever hit Flagler Beach or Palm Coast from the Atlantic Ocean until 2016.

The lone exception, since hurricanes were started being recorded in 1864, was Matthew, which was pushed over the Gulf Stream by a larger Hurricane farther out, so it rode up the coast. The odds of this happening again are miniscule.  Yes, other hurricanes have come across the state from the Gulf of Mexico, and Irma covered the entire state, but not much damage here, except in the unincorporated areas, just loss of power for a a few days, maybe a few roof shingles gone or a pool screen damaged. Tornadoes are also rarer here.

When Palm Coast was being developed, it was designed to withstand 11 inches of rainfall in an hour. When a storm is approaching, the lakes and canals that are part of the network are lowered to absorb excess rainfall, and houses are required to be built 12 inches above ground level. There has been minimal flooding of houses in Palm Coast proper (other areas prone to flooding in unincorporated Flagler County have Palm Coast addresses only because that post office serves them). Even homes in Palm Coast on water or near the ocean or intercoastal can expect some flooding, but mostly only in their yard and/or over their dock.

Palm Coast is the newest city in Florida, incorporated in 1999. There are no houses older than the 1970’s here.