Florida
June 1 through November 30, every year. Florida has been hit by more hurricanes than any other state. Add year-round lightning, chronic flooding, and heat that kills quietly, and preparedness here is not seasonal. It is permanent.
Enter your Florida ZIP for live alerts, forecasts, and county-specific data.
Know your region
Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, the Keys. Storm surge, sea-level rise, king tide flooding, and the porous limestone bedrock that lets seawater push up through the ground. Hurricane Andrew (1992) destroyed Homestead. Hurricane Irma (2017) evacuated the Keys entirely.
Primary hazards: hurricanes, flooding, sea-level rise, heat, lightning
Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, Naples, Sarasota. Hurricane Ian (2022) pushed a 15-foot storm surge into Fort Myers Beach. Tampa Bay is the most hurricane-vulnerable metro in the country that has not been hit by a major storm since 1921. The next one is a matter of when, not if.
Primary hazards: hurricanes, storm surge, flooding, heat
Orlando, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Pensacola, Panama City. Central Florida is the lightning capital of the country. Hurricane Michael (2018) made landfall near Mexico Beach as a Category 5. The Panhandle takes direct hits from Gulf hurricanes. Jacksonville floods from both storm surge and the St. Johns River.
Primary hazards: hurricanes, lightning, flooding, tornadoes, heat
Your hazard profile
Each links to a full guide with during-event protocol, recovery steps, and resources specific to FL.
Florida has been hit by more hurricanes than any other state. Ian (2022) caused 10 billion in damage. Michael (2018) was a Category 5 at landfall. Storm surge is the deadliest component. Know your evacuation zone at KnowYourZoneFL.com.
Read the hurricanes guide →
Florida's flat terrain, high water table, and porous limestone mean water has nowhere to go. King tide flooding is increasing in South Florida. Freshwater flooding from tropical rain persists for days. Flood insurance is essential even outside FEMA flood zones.
Read the flooding guide →
Central Florida has more lightning strikes per square mile than anywhere else in the country. Summer thunderstorms form almost every afternoon. Waterspouts along the coast move inland as tornadoes. Move indoors when you hear thunder.
Read the lightning and severe storms guide →
Heat indices above 110 degrees F last from May through October. Florida's combination of temperature and humidity makes outdoor exposure dangerous for longer periods than the thermometer alone suggests. Air conditioning is not optional.
Read the extreme heat guide →
Florida ranks third nationally for tornado count. Most are spawned by tropical systems or summer storms and form with little warning. The 2007 Groundhog Day outbreak killed 21 in Central Florida. Mobile homes are not safe shelter during tornado warnings.
Read the tornadoes guide →
Florida resources
Florida Division of Emergency Management. Coordinates hurricane response, manages shelters, and runs the state's evacuation planning. Their website is the hub during active storms.
Florida's official evacuation zone lookup. Enter your address to find your evacuation zone, local shelter, and evacuation route. Bookmark this before hurricane season.
Florida Power and Light outage map. Covers most of the state. During hurricanes, this is where you track restoration progress for your area.
South Florida forecasts, hurricane advisories, flood warnings, and rip current alerts. The primary warning source during tropical systems affecting the southeast coast.
Manages the flood control system for 16 counties. Canal levels, flood control operations, and water supply status for the most populated region of the state.
Statewide information and referral. Disaster recovery resources, food assistance, energy assistance, and shelter locations during emergencies.
The question every season
Every Florida household that lives in an evacuation zone has to answer this question before hurricane season starts. Not during the storm. Before. The answer depends on your zone, your structure, your household, and your honesty about risk.
Hurricane Ian taught Fort Myers Beach that storm surge does not care about property values. Hurricane Michael taught Mexico Beach that Category 5 is not just a number on a chart. Hurricane Irma taught the Keys that the entire island chain can be ordered to evacuate at once.
For every Florida household, the preparation is simple and non-negotiable: know your evacuation zone, have a plan for where you go and how you get there, stock 7 days of supplies, and make the decision to leave before the storm makes it for you. The people who wait for certainty are the people who get trapped.