According to the U.S. Census, Orlando grew by 65,000 residents last year. The Villages was the fastest-growing U.S. metro area, increasing by 7.5% between 2021 and 2022.
That means there are a lot of new people in Florida who might be experiencing a hurricane for the first time this year.
WMFE’s Danielle Prieur spoke with Florida Public Radio Emergency Network meteorologist Megan Borowski about storm terminology and how to prepare.
Excerpts from the conversation:
On how the threat in Central Florida differs from other parts of the state.
"Rainfall, flooding is a huge thing, and then also the tornado risk. So good news for Central Florida is you're not right along the coast. So the storm has time to weaken before that eye wall gets to the interior."
On hurricanes versus tropical storms.
"The main thing here is it's classified according to winds. So a tropical storm has weaker winds than a hurricane. A hurricane is 73 mph or greater than 73 mph sustained wind speeds."
On watches versus warnings.
"The watch is more of, we're expecting it longer out. And then warnings are we're expecting them to arrive sooner in time. You want to be on guard if a watch is issued for your area, that's kind of the signal from the National Weather Service."
For more, check out WMFE's hurricane guide. Download the Florida Storms App for updates throughout the season.
