Hurricane Flags Burned in Key West to Mark Storm Season's End

Hundreds of Key West residents gathered at the Truman Waterfront on Wednesday to mark the official end of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. The National Hurricane Center reported that the season saw 14 named storms, with eight of them becoming hurricanes. The latter included Ian, which reached southwest Florida and brought tropical storm-force winds and storm surge to some parts of the Keys. The event featured a conch shell blast and speakers who remembered those affected by the hurricanes and gave thanks that the Keys were spared major impacts. Members of the Keys' Conch Republic administration then doused the hurricane flags with rum and set them alight, to the applause of the several hundred onlookers.