This is the 36th anniversary of the Thanksgiving storm that pounded Florida's East Coast, dumping 7.41 inches of rain in West Palm Beach and causing $38 million in damage. The storm, centered in the Bahamas, led to coastal flooding and major beach erosion from November 22-24, 1984.

An intense extra-tropical cyclone, it was responsible for the grounding of the Venezuelan freighter, Mercedes I for several months in Palm Beach. Getting the ship off the beach in the exclusive resort town became a media sensation.

It was eventually removed and sunk off Fort Lauderdale to create an artificial reef.

The system may have become a subtropical storm as it swiped Bermuda, and in fact it went into the record books for the busy 1984 hurricane season as Tropical Depression 19.

The season ended with 20 tropical depressions, 13 tropical storms, five hurricanes and one major, the busiest season since 1971. The grand finale was Hurricane Lili, which formed near Bermuda and did a loop in the Atlantic before becoming an 80 mph hurricane. It tracked south and then east, threatening the Greater Antilles.

It finally dissipated off the coast of Hispaniola on Christmas Eve. It was one of only four hurricanes in history to form in December.

NOT THIS YEAR: The Thanksgiving week forecast looks stellar for Florida, with sunshine and highs in the 70s and 80s. Much cooler weather is on the way for the first week in December.