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Emergency management

Hurricane season ends November 30: one evacuation, no lives lost, and work for the winter

Sixteen named storms in the Atlantic, two that reached Leonida and one evacuation in the Keys. The season closes in two weeks; getting ready for the next one starts now.

Division of Emergency Management
Dark storm clouds over a flat plain at night, the lights of a refinery and a town along a canal

The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season closes on Monday, November 30. Barring a late surprise, Leonida comes out of it with repairs to finish and lessons to keep, but without a single life lost to a storm.

Forecasters counted sixteen named storms in the Atlantic, seven of which became hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Most of them turned out to sea. Two did not.

The season in Leonida

  • Late August: a Category 1 hurricane brushed the Gulf coast near Port Gellhorn, with gusts of 85 mph and three feet of water in the harbor. Power went out in 61,000 homes and was back everywhere within three days
  • Late September: a tropical storm crossed the Keys. Zone A of Mariana County was ordered to leave for two days, and about 23,000 residents and visitors drove up U.S. Route 1 without a single crash
  • October: rain bands from a storm passing offshore made it one of the wettest Octobers in years, with flooded streets in Vice City and alligators following the canals into the neighborhoods
  • Shelters opened three times and took in 4,800 people and 1,100 pets
  • LeoAlert sent 38 official alerts, and 212,000 people signed up during the season

A quiet season is not a lucky one. It is the one where people knew their zone, left when they were told and came home to a plan. November 30 is a date on the calendar, not a promise from the ocean.

Marcus Delgado, Director of the Division of Emergency Management
A worn coastal town of low houses and empty lots seen from above at sunset, a water tower and the gulf in the distance
Port Gellhorn and the Gulf from above. The August hurricane pushed three feet of water into the harbor.

What to do this winter

The calm months are the cheapest time to get ready: contractors have time, shutters are in stock and nobody is lined up at the hardware store.

  • Check your evacuation zone again: zones were redrawn this year in every coastal county
  • Read your insurance policy before you need it, and keep photos of your home and what is in it
  • Trim the branches over your roof and fix loose shutters
  • From March, homeowners in zones A and B can apply for grants of up to $25,000 under the Coastal Resilience Act to elevate a home or install shutters
  • Keep LeoAlert on: it also sends flood, tornado and boil-water alerts all year

The hurricane season banner comes down from the State sites at the end of November. The 2027 season opens on June 1.

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