Florida: The Storm-Ready Checklist

Shelter & mitigation money

Florida runs My Safe Florida Home — check current eligibility and funding rounds directly on the program page before applying.

NAIC lists Florida among the 19 states plus DC with a separate hurricane or named-storm deductible in homeowner policies as of June 2025 (content.naic.org/insurance-topics/hurricane-deductibles).

Who to call, before and after

The hazards Florida actually faces

• Hurricane and storm surge

  Peak season: Sep

  Storm surge, not wind, is the deadliest part of a hurricane for most coastal households — it can arrive hours before landfall and reach well inland of any beachfront. Evacuation zones are set by surge modeling, not by category number, which is why a weaker storm on a bad track can flood a zone a stronger storm on a better track never touches. Knowing your zone before the season, not during the warning, is the single highest-leverage step.

• Lightning

  Peak season: May–Aug

  Lightning is the most common severe-weather hazard by frequency, and most strikes happen well before or after the heaviest rain — the 30-30 rule (shelter if under 30 seconds between flash and bang, wait 30 minutes after the last one) still holds. It is also the hazard households prepare for least, because it rarely triggers a county-level warning of its own.

• Hail and derecho

  Peak season: Feb–Jul

  Hail and derecho winds arrive inside the same thunderstorm complex, often with less lead time than a tornado warning because the threat is the whole storm line, not a single funnel. Large hail totals more property-damage claims nationally than any other severe-storm hazard, and derecho wind gusts can match hurricane-force winds hundreds of miles from open water. Vehicles under cover and loose yard items secured before the line arrives are the cheap fix.

Rules worth knowing

• Emergency prescription refills: Up to a 30-day supply once a county is under an NWS hurricane warning or a gubernatorial state-of-emergency order (Fla. Stat. § 465.0275, pharmacist side); insurers must also waive refill-too-soon restrictions and cover the 30 days (Fla. Stat. § 252.358).

Frequently asked