ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — We are at the peak of hurricane season and that means it is time stay on your feet. This is especially true for us Tampa Bay folk as our main hurricane season takes place in October.

Hurricane Dorian just threatened our coast and state last week. Remember that? Even here in Tampa Bay, the stores were selling out of water, milk and eggs (I never understood the eggs).

Anyhow, we were in a frenzy to stock up on supplies. For some, this means stock up on junk food like Oreos, Pop Tarts, Chips, Beef Jerky and sodas among other beverages. It was an excuse to splurge a little.

Well, the storm missed us (thankfully) and now we have our pantries full, ample water and a bunch of supplies. Some may think “I spent all this money for nothing.”

I’m here to say you didn’t waste any money. Look at it this way, now you have a full hurricane supply kit — now you are prepared for the rest of the hurricane season!

I’m making this the talking point because we still have a ways to go with hurricane season, which runs through the end of November. In fact, October is Tampa’s most hurricane-prone month.

So don’t eat the Oreos just yet — hold onto it for a while longer. Hard, I know.

We’re not here to lecture you and tell you what to do. Nobody likes that, anyway. I am just here to simply say we are not out of the woods yet.

In fact, this is when history tells us we have the greatest frequency of named storms in the Atlantic. As of this writing, we have none, but there are tropical waves that may develop into a more organized tropical system later.

And yes, we have seen many examples of powerful October storms. 

Just last year, Hurricane Michael slammed into Mexico Beach as a category 5. Hurricane Wilma in 2005 struck Florida as a category 3 storm on October 25.

And then there's the Tampa Bay Hurricane of 1921, which also roared into Tampa on October 25. This is the last-known major hurricane to directly make landfall in our area. 

Going into October, our greatest area to watch is the western Caribbean. These are the storms that can become hurricanes and easily move into our direction.

So the bottom line: keep your nonperishable foods for a while longer so that you are already prepared and won’t have to flock to the stores like a flamboyance of Flamingos if the next hurricane threatens us this year.