Florida plunges toward the 2026 hurricane season a year removed from catastrophe and with hints that a budding El Niño will mean a less enthusiastic tropical Atlantic.
But for about 1,800 meteorologists, emergency managers and storm recovery experts gathered this week at the 40th annual Governor’s Hurricane Conference in West Palm Beach, it’s the tropical cyclones that defy atmospheric guardrails that worry them.
After two days of training, a grand opening ceremony on Wednesday, May 13 came with an ominous message.
“The risk is going to be there for impacts this year regardless of what you hear about in any seasonal forecast.” said National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan. “It was relatively quiet for the United States last year, but we had a Category 5 landfall in Jamaica, major hurricanes landfalls in Cuba and the Bahamas and about 125 direct fatalities across the basin.”
Hurricane season runs June 1 through Nov. 30. Last year, no hurricanes made landfall in the U.S.
‘Shark Tank’ star Kevin O’Leary speaks at Governor’s Hurricane Conference
While the hurricane conference began Sunday and lasts through Friday, May 15, Wednesday’s events included keynote speakers including Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter and a visit from entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary.
O’Leary said many investors are starting to look at emergency management and recovery efforts as a place where technology can improve response and hasten rebuilding.
“This is a sector that is misunderstood by many taxpayers,” said O’Leary about emergency management and weather forecasting. “There is nothing more important than this.”
O’Leary’s son, Trevor O’Leary, showcased a portable, self-leveling home built by a company he cofounded called Uplift Microhome.
The 60 square foot tiny home has running water, a small kitchenette, a compostable toilet, a shower and a bed. The home is run on battery power and is designed for up to two weeks of living before the water needs to be refilled. It was developed to fill the gap left by FEMA trailers that are limited to places with water and electrical availability.
“Power and water utilities is a big limitation for trailers,” O’Leary said. “There are also limits where you can place them because of foundation requirements.”
The who’s who of absent attendees at this year’s conference included Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Division of Emergency Management officials.
The conference is not a traditional stop on any recent Florida governor’s agenda even though it’s called the Governor’s Hurricane Conference. A spokeswoman for DeSantis said he had pre-scheduled obligations this year. He did attend in 2019.
Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the state’s emergency management division, attended the National Hurricane Conference earlier this year in Orlando but skipped this week in West Palm Beach.
In June 2024, Guthrie’s department helped launch a separate conference called Florida’s Training for Emergency Management Symposium, touting it as a centralized program offered in an “enhanced and cohesive” fashion. This year’s symposium will be held in Orlando June 1-5.
Governor’s Hurricane Conference grew from tragedy
The Governor’s Hurricane Conference was born out of confusing mass evacuation of the Tampa Bay area during Hurricane Elena in 1985. Lessons learned from having 113,000 people in shelters, many who were elderly, were presented the next year at the National Hurricane Conference in Texas.
Florida realized it needed its own conference, and the Florida State Hurricane Conference was christened later that year. In 1987, then Gov. Bob Martinez endorsed the state’s sponsorship of the conference, and the name was changed to the Governor’s Hurricane Conference.
It has been held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center since 2017 but will move to Orlando in 2027. After three years of being pummeled by hurricanes Matthew (2016), Irma (2017) and Michael (2018) the conference attracted 2,200 attendees in 2019.
Insta Privy showcased at Governor’s Hurricane Conference
Wednesday also marked the opening of the conference’s exhibit hall, which included 180 vendors hawking hurricane survival and response gear, flooding prevention and recovery tools.
Paul Mangum highlighted the benefits of his Insta Privy portable toilet in a backpack, which can be used on the side of the road during bumper-to-bumper evacuations or camping. It’s advertised as the “#1 for #2.”
“It will actually hold more than one donation,” Mangum said. “We even include a shovel in the backpack so you can did a hole.”
As the June 1 hurricane season start date approaches, most leading forecasts are calling for a normal to slightly below normal activity with the potential that a strong storm-shredding El Niño will form before or during the peak of the season.
Colorado State University’s forecast is for 13 named storms and six hurricanes. Of the six hurricanes two are forecast to escalate to 111 mph Category 3 storms or higher.
Similarly, AccuWeather is predicting a normal to below normal season with 11 to 16 named storms, four to seven hurricanes and two to four major hurricanes.
An average hurricane season has 14 named storms and seven hurricanes, of which three become major hurricanes.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for the USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA. She covers weather, the environment and critters as the Embracing Florida reporter. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Don’t count on El Niño to kill Florida hurricane season, experts warn
Reporting by Kimberly Miller, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
