Osceola County Hosts 2023 “Before the Storm” Hurricane Expo

Osceola County’s annual hurricane preparation event was held at the Kissimmee Civic Center on Saturday.

The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1 and runs through Nov. 30 each year; however, storms can form outside of those dates in any given year.

Several Osceola County and city agencies, first responders from across the county, area utilities, and numerous non-government disaster response agencies and media outlets were on hand to provide information and staffed equipment displays in the Civic Center parking lot.

Most area residents have recent memories of the very active tropical weather that struck Central Florida this past hurricane season. Some residents are still significantly impacted by last year’s two storms, Ian and Nicole, the latter of which brought significant flooding to various areas of the county and both Kissimmee and St. Cloud. Events such as Saturday’s Hurricane Expo are great ways for new residents to learn and prepare before the possibility of tropical storm activity starts in earnest.

“We have about 30 families still in need of permanent housing, and over 100 in some type of transition to full recovery,” said Bill Litton, Emergency Management Director for Osceola County.

For this coming hurricane season, the very respected Colorado State University (CSU) forecast is calling for “slightly below-average activity” in the Atlantic Basin this year. One of the reasons for the lower number in the CSU forecast is the expectation of an “El Niño” weather pattern to emerge in the Pacific, which can generate wind shear in the Caribbean and portions of the mid-Atlantic that prevent tropical storm formation. If the El Niño pattern does not occur or occurs later than forecasted, more storms can be expected.

The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will release its tropical weather forecast on Thursday. Two meteorologists from NOAA’s National Weather Service Melbourne Forecast Office, which is responsible for official forecasts in East Central Florida, were on hand to encourage residents to get their hurricane kits ready, with an example on hand.

To help residents obtain necessary hurricane season supplies, the first of two state “sales tax holidays” is coming up soon, starting May 27 and running through June 9. The second holiday will occur right before the mid-September peak of hurricane season, running Aug. 26 through Sept. 8.

Osceola County Emergency Management always has volunteer opportunities for individuals wanting to give back to the community, with numerous areas and functions requiring a wide variety of skills. Those interested can get more information at https://bit. ly/3pZUUcS