It's June and that means it's the start of the Atlantic hurricane season.
The season runs until Nov. 30 and peaks during the late summer and early fall.
Federal forecasters are predicting a slower-than-usual season, but they, along with Bay News 9's meteorologists, are quick to warn that it takes only one storm to wreak havoc.
"Take 1992, for example," Bay News 9 meteorologist Josh Linker said. "That was a quiet season, but that also had Hurricane Andrew. So you don't want to tell folks in South Florida that 1992 was quiet by any means."
Andrew hit Florida's coast south of Miami as a Category 5 hurricane in August 1992, devastating Homestead and causing $26 billion in damage in Florida alone.
Preparation should be on the minds of everyone, Bay News 9 Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay said.
"It's extremely important, because surveys indicate that after a hurricane, people that had a plan did better than people who didn't have a plan," he said. "So even if your plan is just talking about it, even if your plan has changed as soon as the hurricane threatens, you're gonna do better than the 80 or 90 percent of the people that don't even have a clue what to do."
Clay and other experts who appeared at the recent Hurricane Expo at Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry recommended have plenty of medication on hand, as well as water, food and other supplies.
Personal papers, including insurance information, should be kept in a safe place.
Forecasters with the National oceanic Atmospheric Administration predict a 50 percent chance of a below-normal hurricane season, a 40 percent chance of a near-normal season and a 10 percent chance of a above-normal season.
That's because of an expected El Nino, which warms part of the Pacific every few years and changes rain and temperature patterns around the world. It also suppresses the number and intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes.
Cooler temperatures on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean compared with recent years will also lower the probability of hurricane formation.
The NOAA says there's a 70 percent chance the Atlantic will see eight to 13 named storms - three to six of which will build into hurricanes, including three major hurricanes.
A named storm has winds of at least 39 mph. A hurricane has winds of 74 mph and a major hurricane 111 mph.
There are some developments this year at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Forecasters will begin dropping small drones into storms in the hope they can learn more about how they strengthen and better predict a storm's intensity. They'll also post color-coded maps to show coastal residents how far from the shoreline flood water will spread and how high that water will rise. Storm surge - the dangerous water rise created by tropical storms - is one of the deadliest and most damaging storm hazards.
It's been 10 years since the historic 2004 hurricane season, when four hurricanes affected Florida for the first time since record-keeping began: Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. There were 15 named storms that season, nine of which were hurricanes. But those four hurricanes remain among the costliest hurricanes to hit the United States.