Under one month out from hurricane season: landfall hotspots, sales tax holiday coming up
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Atlantic hurricane season 2024 starts in under one month on June 1, along with a tax break holiday for Floridians looking to prepare.
Tax relief for 2024, as part of this year’s fiscal legislative package, is set to include a disaster preparedness sales tax holiday from June 1-14 and Aug. 24-Sep. 6.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has not yet signed the full budget and tax package into law, but has said multiple times his final approved version will include plenty of tax relief, and he is likely to approve the disaster holiday – which also took place last year.
Below are items that would apply:
- Flashlights and lanterns $40 or less
- Reusable ice $20 or less
- Radios $50 or less
- Tarps, ground anchors, tie-down kits $100 or less
- Coolers, portable power banks $60 or less
- Batteries, fuel tanks $50 or less
- Smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors $70 or less
- Generators $3,000 or less
- Additional items related to evacuating pets
Meteorologist Eric Burris of southwest Florida station NBC 2 released a 2024 “landfall hotspots” map, a perhaps more indicative graphic for Floridians looking to see just how much this season could impact them, rather than a list of total name storms – as those storms could potentially travel anywhere, away from Florida.
The hotspots include the Florida coastline running all throughout the Gulf from Louisiana, down to Miami, and a bit north of Palm Beach on the state’s eastern coast. This includes cities like Tampa, Sarasota, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples and Miami.
These hotspots line up with both the 2023 and 2022 hurricane seasons – the major storms including Idalia in 2023 hitting the Big Bend, and Ian ramming into southwestern Florida in 2022.
“This is particularly concerning for us Floridians, as it tells me that not only are we under a higher threat for tropical impact, but perhaps the greatest threat I’ve forecast since beginning these long range outlooks years ago,” Burris said.
As of now, Burris says that the threat for southern Florida and the Panhandle coast particularly exists from May 19-24, July 5-10 and Aug. 21-27.
He predicts 16-20 name storms, more than the average of 14; seven of these are predicted to be hurricanes, and three “major” hurricanes, or those marked Category 3 or stronger.
Major forecasters, including from AccuWeather and Colorado State University have warned of a hyperactive hurricane season, as 2024 is set to be a “La Niña period,” more favorable for Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf activity.
View the National Hurricane Center’s Tropical Weather Outlook for the most official information on any tropical system or forecast.
