Can a Hyper even be built in Florida?

I remember seeing something, somewhere (I am telling you now that i really did, and im not pulling some pathetic prank) that as the height of a coaster increases, its ability to withstand wind decreases. However, like in earthquake regions, the supports can be modified to withstand more pressure.

Now, heres the question - Could it be done in the sunshine state? Maybe, but take into consideration that Florida is the nubber 1 hit state for hurricanes. If you want to withstand that, you need to be sure it can withstand winds up to 200 mph. At 200+ feet up, that may get tricky.

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*My Personal Top 5*
1)-Nitro, 2)-S:ROS(sfne), 3)-Kraken, 4)-Alpengeist, 5)-Incredible Hulk

Well, take Tokyo (or Osaka) for instance. Don't they get earthquakes and monsoons? Steel Dragon 2000 was built with special supports to withstand high winds and bad weather. So basically they would just have to pay extra money for larger supports.
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Don't look down-Oblivion
SLCs kick arse (when smooth).

*** This post was edited by PT300 on 11/14/2001. ***

But O-town is in the middle of the state, and windspeed of a hurricane does drop significantly as you leave the coast (I live in G'ville;~)!...and they build coasters in tornado alley.  Our hurricanes and lightning don't really pose as much of a threat as a 318 mph twister...but I do remember a cool thread that started awhile back inquiring if people in the South were afraid of tall coasters (NO!).  Build an S:RoS here in FL and just TRY to get me away from it...
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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

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rollergator said:
But O-town is in the middle of the state, and windspeed of a hurricane does drop significantly as you leave the coast (I live in G'ville;~)!...and they build coasters in tornado alley.  Our hurricanes and lightning don't really pose as much of a threat as a 318 mph twister...but I do remember a cool thread that started awhile back inquiring if people in the South were afraid of tall coasters (NO!).  Build an S:RoS here in FL and just TRY to get me away from it...
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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

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  Amen... Living in TAMPA HERE BABY!!! Come on Busch Gardens... give me something  this year.  I don't really like Busch Gardens and love going to SFOG instead.  Busch has too long of lines since they only have 5 coasters with 3 being good( or internationally known I should say? ) But, I am from Chicago so I love SFGAM and Raging Bull is such a great ride...
 
 I would love for them to get a B&M hyper like Raging Bull... Make it 230ft or more and I'll be happy... Actually, I 'll be happy with 200...

Well... let me offer my two cents on this...

It's hard to compare building a coaster in a hurricane prone area to tornado alley.  Tornadoes are very small storms in comparison to hurricanes, they have localized damage, and they rarely get very strong (318 mph is a VERY rare event).  Unless a tornado hits a coaster directly... and only if it is strong enough will it take it out.  A rollercoaster is sort of like any other structure built, they are designed to take a certain amount of force.  So, in a hurricane prone area, a designer would take that into account and reinforce the supports for extra measure.  The good news is that there's a lot of "open space" allowing wind to cut through it, versus a building which is solid and acts like a giant sail in a breeze.  And because skyscrapers can withstand hurricanes (reasonably well), why not coasters?

However, opposed to large, dense buildings, coasters are lightweight and can be tossed around easily.  But, I am sure that if someone wants a tall coaster in FL, it can be done, but maybe with an additional price tag.

BTW - think about this...  Florida has the most tornadoes per square mile of any other state in the nation annually.  However, they're almost entirely very weak, (Fujita 0 to 1), so you don't hear about them.

According to other posts Morgan appears to be building a hyper somewhere in the U.S. for next year.  Maybe one of the Busch parks in FL is where it will end up.  AB has used Morgan before (Steel Eel in Sea World in Texas) and Morgan is the company that built SD2K, which was built to be able to withstand similar conditions to what a hyper would have to withstand in FL.  Just food for thought that just crossed my mind.