Florida's weather is world renowned for it's warmth and sunshine. However, mother nature rarely gives freely of such beauty without a price. Every year, from June to October, Florida prepares itself as best it can for the onslaught of one of the most furiously devastating types of weather known to man - the Hurricane.

Beginning in 1950, newly developing storms were given names. In 1979, the World Meteorological Organization instituted a permanent, six-year rotating list of names. However, just as in the world of sports, once in awhile a Hurricane comes along that is so devastating, that it must be distinguished from other storms, and its name must be retired, as an athlete's jersey number is retired, placing it into Hurricane legend forever. Hurricane Andrew is a perfect example of this. In 1992, Andrew roared across Florida, leaving unheard-of destruction in its wake. The name Andrew has since been retired, preventing a future storm being given the same name, and thus getting the two storms confused.

Below is a list of Hurricanes that at some point touched Florida (although Florida may not have been where the most damage occurred) and have had their names retired. This list is in a CryptoQuiz format. The instructions for solving this puzzle have also been included, as well as the year that the Hurricane struck.

After solving the puzzle, choose one Hurricane and research it. Write a paper which describes the general formation and attributes of a Hurricane, as well as specific information about the chosen storm. Information to be included should be:

• The Hurricane's track through the tropics
• The states and cities directly affected by the storm
• Damage estimates, and actual costs to rebuild
• The current status of repair efforts, if any are still underway

A CryptoQuiz is a list of related words put into a simple code. You will find that one set of letters has been substituted for the correct letters of the words in the group below. Look for words which might betray themselves by their distinctive spelling. When you have identified a word, the known letters will help you decode other words in the group. Remember that if H stands for T in one word, it will be the same throughout the puzzle.

NOTE: The names have been listed in chronological order, from most recent.

(1998) APKNM

(1998) BGWOBGV

(1995) WHLI

(1985) GIGSL

(1979) ZLCPZ

(1975) GIWPVG

(1972) LBSGV

(1966) PSGJ

(1965) EGKVT

(1964) NIGW

(1964) ZWOL

(1960) ZWSSL

For more information on Hurricanes, please visit the Miami Museum of Science's website at www.miamisci.org/hurricane/