To mark the start of hurricane season local officials are calling on residents to get prepared.
Wednesday morning with the sun beating down local officials introduced the supplies that should be in a hurricane kit: water, flashlight, batteries, radio, prescriptions, and any important personal documents. The heat of June is when Atlantic storms typically start brewing, but Leon County Emergency Manager Kevin Peters says this year is looking different.
“June 1 is the official start of hurricane season, however, this year we’ve had an unusual start to the actual formation of hurricanes,” Peters says.
“Our first storm of the year, Alex formed back in January. It became a hurricane with peak winds of 85 miles an hour.”
And Peters explains Sunday this year’s second storm—named Bonnie—made landfall in South Carolina.
“What this illustrates is that there is really nothing normal about a hurricane season and we must be prepared for whatever Mother Nature sends our way,” Peters says.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting between 10 and 16 named storms this year. The forecast also suggests up to eight could become hurricanes, one to four of them category three or higher. It’s been more than a decade since a hurricane struck Florida, but County Commissioner Bill Proctor says residents should still prepare.
“God has been good to us in the avoidance of serious weather conditions like hurricanes in recent years,” Proctor says. “However God has a mercurial temperament at times and God can make wind go wherever God decides and that’s nothing that we honestly know.”
June 18 the Capital Area Chapter of the Red Cross will host a fill a bucket event to help citizens prepare their own emergency plans and kits.
