You’ve heard the warnings about the upcoming hurricane season—they’ve come from tropical weather experts on the national scene.
But, take it from local leaders whose job revolves around responding to emergency threats like hurricanes.
In a recent presentation to the County Commission, Osceola County Emergency Operations Manager Bill Litton said his team is bracing for what could be a “hyperactive” storm season—and that residents should brace and prepare as well.
As weather conditions transition later this summer from an El Niño patten (less favorable for tropical development in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico basins) and La Niña (much more favorable), and as Atlantic Ocean temperatures are “record warm” for this part of June to provide more fuel for storms, predictions are as high as the formation of 23 named storms—for reference, the National Hurricane Center’s naming list only has 21 names before going to an “auxiliary list”—and 11 hurricanes, with five potentially reaching Category 3-5 “major” status.
Later this year, the NHC will modify its advisory cone to better represent the wind and rain threats to inland areas. Previously, the NHC would issue warnings for the coastal areas, with the National Weather Service issuing Tropical Storm or Hurricane watches or warnings for inland areas that would get those weather conditions. The NHC site will also share advisories in Spanish.
Litton said Emergency Management and the county are now participating in the Florida Recovery Obligation Calculation, a new initiative sponsored by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) that standardizes, streamlines, and simplifies the public assistance coordination process with
the state.
“That will pay dividends when we go into our next incident,” he said. “It’s going to pay dividends because it’s going to lower the county’s risk and certify us for better reimbursement.”
Litton also touted enhancements to the county’s Emergency Management dashboard. Since Hurricane Ian struck in 2022, a layer has been added to include road closure updates.
Emergency officials also added three more WeatherSTEM weather stations to the county’s network — at the EOC, Fire Department Station 67 on Boggy Creek Road and at a tower on Nova Road. And, Litton said the EOC is working to develop Community Emergency Response Teams in underserved areas of the county.
While county officials are getting ready, residents should as well. Litton encourages everyone to have a working NOAA weather radio to get emergency updates, especially those that come overnight. A state sales tax holiday on disaster preparation items ends on Sunday, so it’s a good time to stock up when there isn’t a threat.
“We all just need to be prepared, and keep our eyes out,” Litton said.
