Hurricane season is here, and emergency officials, insurance experts, meteorologists, and utility crews across the Treasure Coast say the time to prepare is now — not when a storm is already on the way.
WATCH: Storm Ready: Your complete guide to the 2026 hurricane season
Know your zone and have a plan
St. Lucie County emergency leaders say the first step is knowing your evacuation zone.
"What we need the public to know is what zone are they in? Are they in an evacuation zone? So you've got Zone A, Zone B. Those are based primarily on storm surge zones. And then also what routes are available and if you plan to leave, have a clear plan in place."
Officials encourage residents to evacuate tens of miles rather than hundreds of miles if possible, and to make sure gas tanks are full early. For those who cannot drive, county transit buses will pick up residents from designated locations and take them to shelters.
"The most important thing to remember is to have a plan and take action early."
What the 2026 hurricane season outlook means for you
NOAA's latest forecast calls for a below-average 2026 hurricane season, with 8 to 14 named storms, 3 to 6 hurricanes, and 1 to 3 major hurricanes.
Meteorologist James Wieland says a likely El Niño pattern is a key reason for the quieter outlook.
"El Niño basically is just warmer than average water off South America and it stretches all the way through the Pacific and even into the central Pacific."
Wieland says El Niño produces upper-level wind shear that disrupts hurricane development in the Atlantic.
"The hurricanes want to build vertically. They want that outflow in the upper levels. If you mess all that up, it's not going to get a chance to develop. It inhibits the development of any storms that try out there, so that's the reasoning behind this season."
But Wieland cautions that a below-average forecast is not a reason to let your guard down.
"These numbers aren't 0, so you can't really let your guard down because any one of these could be a major hurricane. There's going to be 1 to 3 of them out there, and that could impact our area, so you got to always stay prepared."
Will Ulrich, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, echoes that warning.
"The adage that the National Weather Service always says is it only takes one. We've had plenty of seasons that have been below normal, yet they've been incredibly impactful."
He points to 2004 as an example — a below-normal season that included Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, which struck Martin County's Sewell's Point in a three-week period.
Lessons from the storms that came before
For Luina Rivera, the sounds of those storms are not easy to forget.
"All the noise. All this water came in the house."
Rivera lived through Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne and says the real struggle came after the storms passed.
"That was one of the big things we learned from Frances and Jeanne, the aftermath. There's no supplies to repair anything. Insurance claims, it takes forever."
She says the months leading up to hurricane season can make all the difference.
"Preparation is key. It's really important."
Review your insurance now
Insurance experts say one of the most common mistakes homeowners make is not reviewing their coverage before a storm threatens.
Robert Norberg, with Ardent Insurance in Lantana, says coverage limits are a critical place to start.
"Look at your coverage limits. Are the coverage limits matching today's rebuilding costs? That's a big one because a lot of people actually are underinsured when it comes to that."
Norberg also says every Florida homeowner should consider flood insurance — regardless of where they live.
"I always say if it rains at your house, you need flood insurance. You can be in an area that normally doesn't flood, but if we get a ton of rain and you don't have damage from the hurricane itself, you better have a flood policy if that water rises up and comes into your house."
He adds that the entire state of Florida is technically a flood zone.
"It just depends on if you're in a high risk location or a low risk flood zone location."
Homeowners should also understand how their hurricane deductible works.
"The hurricane deductible is usually a very high deductible. Some people misthink that it is 2% of the damage. It is not. It is 2% of your building value that's insured."
And if a hurricane does damage your home, Norberg says homeowners are contractually obligated to stop the damage from getting worse — such as covering broken windows or holes in roofs.
When it comes to documentation, Norberg says a simple video walkthrough of your home is one of the most effective tools.
"I would take a quick video, walk around the house, and you can even do that inside if you want to say, hey, this is what it looked like. You don't have to be too specific, unless it's something that's very, very important to you."
The radar gap putting lives at risk
On October 9, 2024, at least 45 tornadoes slammed Southeast Florida. Just 12 hours later, Hurricane Milton made landfall, and flash flooding inundated the West Coast.
Experts say those two threats — tornadoes and flash flooding — may be the hardest to detect quickly with current radar coverage.
Tara Good, vice president of radar operations at Clima Vision, says there are critical weather coverage gaps across the region.
"Specifically where you are in Palm Beach County in that area, there's a lot of people that we would consider vulnerable to pop-up storms, flash floods, tornadoes that don't have warnings."
Good says radar works in layers, but the lowest level — crucial for spotting flash flooding and tornadoes — is where coverage falls short.
"Contrary to popular belief, the circulation doesn't always come from high in the atmosphere."
Former National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Lamar says new research shows tornadoes are forming closer to the ground, making low-level radar more critical than ever. A NOAA map shows a major gap over Palm Beach and southern Martin counties.
"As you go farther away from those radars, you're not seeing the lower level of the atmosphere. So therefore, we're not going to see some of the tornadoes that may be spinning up in the lower levels of the atmosphere."
Jason Hallstrom, executive director of FAU Sensing Institute, says that gap could delay life-saving alerts.
"We have a significant radar gap."
An investigation found two failures during Milton: emergency alerts that dozens of residents said were never sent to their phones in western Palm Beach County, and tornado warnings issued minutes too late in South Martin County — both inside the low-level radar gap.
"When you have gaps, it takes longer for the underlying models to understand what is going to happen in those areas."
Clima Vision is working to deploy additional radar, including one in Palm Beach County, to provide coverage for the surrounding 60 miles left vulnerable.
"The radar that we're bringing will fill that whole void."
But experts say it is not enough.
"Absolutely not. I think Florida needs many more of these expanded weather radars across the area."
How FPL is preparing to restore power
At Florida Power & Light's West Palm Beach Command Center, crews and equipment are already staged and ready.
Jack Ebel with FPL says the company takes steps before, during, and after a storm to ensure customers get power restored as quickly as possible. A key part of that effort involves mobile emergency response pods.
"What these pods do is they help get us connected to our resources back at our command center, help us get connected to the internet so we can begin the restoration process even before it's technically safe for our crews to be out there."
FPL stages multiple pods in areas expected to see the greatest storm impacts so crews can begin restoration work immediately from the field.
"It helps us to be more efficient, get the restoration process going for our customers immediately after a storm."
FPL also conducts an annual hurricane drill to test and improve storm response.
"We've developed a long list of action items and lessons learned from the drill, and we put those in place and make sure we put corrective measures in place prior to a storm."
Year-round preparation includes investing in stronger overhead power poles, strategically undergrounding neighborhood power lines, and installing smart switches and substation flood monitors. FPL also annually trims vegetation along thousands of miles of power lines.
Ebel says property owners should also do their part.
"If they have planted a new tree or have grown new vegetation and over time it has grown to a point where they feel that it could impact electrical equipment during a storm, that would be the time that we would encourage them to hire a professional to do that work for them."
He says FPL tree branches are the number one cause of power outages.
"Refine that emergency plan because we know that the next storm will be right around the corner."
Rapid intensification: A growing threat
2025 was a quiet year for the U.S. with no hurricane landfalls — something that had not happened since 2015. Tropical Storm Chantal was the only storm to make landfall in the U.S., bringing excessive rainfall and flooding to North Carolina.
However, the Atlantic Basin had 4 major hurricanes, including 3 that became powerful Category 5 hurricanes. The most devastating was Hurricane Melissa, which, according to NOAA, became one of the strongest Atlantic Basin hurricane landfalls on record when it made landfall in southwestern Jamaica on October 28. In a 3-day period, Melissa went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane.
Forecasters are paying close attention to rapid intensification — when a storm's winds increase by at least 35 mph in just 24 hours. The key components for rapid intensification are a warm and humid environment and extremely warm ocean waters.
The World Meteorological Organization's 2025 State of the Global Climate report notes the ocean continued to warm in 2025, reaching record high levels, raising concerns that strong, fast-growing storms could become more common in the years ahead.
What you can do right now
Experts say now is the time to act. Here is a checklist to get started:
- Know your evacuation zone. Look up whether you are in Zone A, Zone B, or another designated area.
- Review your insurance. Check coverage limits, understand your hurricane deductible, and consider flood insurance.
- Document your home. Walk through your home with your phone and record a video of your belongings.
- Stock up on supplies. Batteries, portable generators, tarps, gas cans, bottled water, and first aid kits are all available tax-free in Florida at any time.
- Prepare your home. Consider storm shutters, plywood, and sandbags. Make sure trees near your home are properly trimmed.
- Have a plan. Know your evacuation route, keep your gas tank full, and make sure your family knows what to do.
When hiring contractors for storm preparation or repairs, experts say to verify they are local, licensed, and insured — and to be cautious of storm chasers.
Martin County Emergency Management Coordinator Colin Ridel says preparation is not a seasonal task.
"Preparation is 365 days a year."
TRACKING THE TROPICS: Hurricane Center | Hurricane Guide
