My Weather Page entry in Saturday's Sun included a long list of variants on the term "hurricane," compiled by Chris Landsea, a hurricane researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The last word I included was "jimmycane."  The word prompted the following response from Heather Dewar, an environmental writer, former Sun reporter and Florida native. Many thanks, Heather. Chime in anytime.

"I can't explain the origin of the word 'jimmycane' but I can tell you that is is NOT a synonym for hurricane.

"A jimmycane is a lesser storm. The term was used in Florida when I was growing up to describe a violent storm that blows in with little or no warning, does a bit of damage, and quickly moves on. My dad used it whenever we got caught in a squall on the boat: 'Aw, it's just a jimmycane.'  This was meant to be reassuring.

"The word was never used widely and is very rare today. You hear it mostly from people who grew up in the rural parts of the state. I suspect my dad picked it up when he was a college student in Gainesville in the 1950s. I don't know if it is used elsewhere in the hurricane belt.

"As for the origins, it's fun to guess. Many old-time Floridians pronounced the word hurricane as 'harrycane.' Maybe some old-timer was claiming he'd been hit by a hurricane, and his friends didn't think so, and made fun of him by moving on down the alphabet from Harry to Jim."

"I have a cat named Jimmycane. She is gray with underlying streaks of yellow, like the eerie sky you sometimes see before a summer squall, and she tends to blow into a room, quickly wreak havoc, and move on.  - Heather"