We made it.
But, for a couple days back in August … whew, that was close.
The 2023 Atlantic Hurricane season “officially” wrapped up Thursday, and if there are no named storms in December, it will have seen 20 named storms, which is tied for the fourth-most in one season — a “quietly active” season despite El Niño conditions scientists say should tamp down storm activity.
There were seven hurricanes and three major (Category 3-5) storms. That included Hurricane Idalia, which was briefly a Category 4 storm in the Gulf of Mexico before it eventually made landfall in Keaton Beach in the Big Bend area as a high-end Category 3 storm on Aug. 30.
Leading up to the storm, a State of Emergency was declared for 49 counties in Florida, including Osceola, which led to the closure of schools and most municipal offices that Wednesday. The swift state-level response included local members of emergency management teams.
But, as it comes to storm responding, Osceola residents are doing a good job of being storm-ready through the summer and fall, Osceola County Emergency Management Director Bill Litton said.
“There are so many new people and visitors who haven’t experienced the threat, and we have so many visitors in the area during hurricane season who’ve never experienced it, it’s a constant process getting messages and information out when a storm threatens,” he said. “Hurricane Ian was such a unique case for us last year, with 19 inches of rain in about 12 hours, that it got rid of any ‘hurricane amnesia’ about the inland impacts of a storm.
“We saw with Idalia, people were leaning forward because they remembered the effect. While Idalia wouldn’t have been a water maker for us, it stirred up that awareness.”
Don’t let guard down for weather just because the National Hurricane Center says that season is over with — we’re now entering a couple of new seasons thanks to the El Niño weather pattern. That makes Florida prone for severe weather over the winter and into next spring.
“El Niño can be a fence for tropical systems, but it makes tornadoes a possibility,” Litton said, noting the deadly outbreak in Osceola County in 1998 and the 2007 Groundhog Day outbreak, both in February. “Most of those storms come at night or early in the morning, so it makes it important to get that (NOAA) weather radio, and sign up for Alert Osceola messages (text AlertOsceola to 888777 or go to alertosceola.org). Make plans, especially if you live in a mobile home or manufactured housing. Maybe you make plans to stay with friends or in a more solid structure that night.”
April through June brings the threat of wild fires — just like 1998 — which then wraps back around for the start of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season.
“After a very active 2023 season, and the devastating impacts from Hurricane Idalia, it is important for communities to prepare now for the 2024 season, as disasters can happen at any time,” said FDEM Executive Director Kevin Guthrie. “As we get ready to make a plan for the next hurricane season, we would be remiss if we didn’t thank the first responders and State Emergency Response Team for their hard work during the 2023 season. It is with their dedication to the residents of Florida that we are able to respond to and recover from disasters faster than ever before.”
