It\u2019s tempting to view this absence of activity as cosmic retribution for Helene and Milton. How simple it feels to think we needed this, to frame the calm as an offering to offset lives lost, businesses stalled, construction permits stacked up like a thousand terrible dissertations.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s even more tempting to interpret 2025\u2019s silence as a sign that everything is sliding back to normal, that forecasts for an above-average season amounted to a psychogenic illness birthed by a hysterical media. As early as this summer, social posts of questionable veracity went viral<\/a>, declaring hurricane season over, causing the National Weather Service to reply, in essence: uh, no. Look to the comment section of any weather page, and you\u2019ll see it, too. Willful ignorance, the words \u201cclickbait\u201d and \u201chype\u201d used ad nauseam.<\/p>\n To be fair, who among us doesn\u2019t have bad news fatigue? During the height of COVID-19, a brand of simplistic language seemed to copulate and repopulate. Let\u2019s call these wishful sayings TJ Maxxims, pat expressions one might find swirled on canvas near the coffee syrups and salad spinners. In the T-shirty lemniscate of \u201cfaith over fear,\u201d everything would work out fine. Millions of deaths and an upheaval of society later, we know we cannot \u201clive, laugh, love\u201d our way out of disaster.<\/p>\n Likewise, to let our proverbial storm shutters down now would be a mistake.<\/p>\n It would be too easy, too provincial to seek reassurance only in our backyard. Consider Jamaica, pummeled in October by Hurricane Melissa<\/a>, one of the strongest Atlantic storms to ever make landfall. The island nation lost more than 50 lives and is plagued by a bacterial outbreak in contaminated water.<\/p>\n While weather patterns and high wind shear spared us by pushing systems east this season, 13 named storms still formed in the Atlantic. Despite eerie lulls in activity, National Hurricane Center predictions were largely correct.<\/p>\n In the perpetually heating waters of man-made climate change, several storms blossomed into menacing Category 5s. One expert told the Tampa Bay Times he saw \u201cexceptional\u201d rates of intensification, and witnessing major hurricanes explode was \u201cextraordinary.\u201d Melissa<\/a>, for example, got so big so fast because the water was not only hot on the surface \u2014 it was hot deep down.<\/p>\n No doubt, the statistics can get overwhelming. What is there for an average person to do except hope for the best? It\u2019s not like anyone can drop a giant ice cube into the Atlantic while our hurricane kits gather dust. It\u2019s not like we can ever be guaranteed protection.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t have to crumble into anxiety, but we must not abandon our tropical to-do lists. Batteries and Chef Boyardee, yes. Making difficult decisions on how and where to rebuild or buy homes, yes.<\/p>\n Also, we would do well to support elected leaders who:<\/p>\n Boldly prioritize the health of Florida\u2019s environment and the safety of its people over the interests of big business. We must stop sacrificing our fragile coastlines and clean water<\/a> to condos, roads and shady land deals<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fully fund public health initiatives, emergency management agencies and social programs that help before and after a storm. This should include more attention to pregnant people and new parents<\/a> who are more at risk during weather crises.<\/p>\n Put more guardrails on safety, not fewer. Florida\u2019s Legislature made progress this year when it passed a commonsense bill<\/a> requiring heavy equipment at construction sites to be secured before a hurricane hits. The change doesn\u2019t go far enough, though, as state law still bafflingly prevents local governments from regulating cranes<\/a> in their own cities.<\/p>\n Advocate for the robust existence \u2014 not random slashing \u2014 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Weather Service and all organizations tasked with predicting dangerous weather and pulling Americans out of harm\u2019s way.<\/p>\n Believe science over charisma.<\/p>\n Know that living in paradise will always be a gamble. That we\u2019re allowed to feel lucky, dodged, somehow exalted, but that the gift of being missed by catastrophe is never a pass to opt out of protecting this wild and precious place we call home.<\/p>\n Get Stephanie\u2019s newsletter<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e59b6ae7cfbb252eebce7b0d596d72bd.jpeg\"\/)
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