It’s Almost June. Do You Know Where Your Flashlights Are?
A hurricane season reality check — from one Polk County neighbor to another
Every single year, somewhere around the first week of June, I find myself standing in the hardware aisle of my local Ace, squinting at a display of flashlights I should have bought back in April. There is something about living in Florida that makes us all feel quietly invincible — right up until a storm has a name and suddenly the entire county is fighting over the last case of water and canned chili at Publix.
I’m not here to scare you. Actually, I’m going to borrow a line from someone who has made a career out of doing exactly the opposite. Denis Phillips, the ABC Action News chief meteorologist who has been guiding Central Florida through storm season for over 30 years, has a rule he comes back to every single hurricane season. He calls it Rule Number 7, and it goes like this: “Don’t freak out unless I’m freaking out. We’re fine.” Phillips — you know the one, suspenders, calm voice, the man everyone switches to when the national media is bumping dramatic music before a storm has even organized — built his entire reputation on skipping the hype and sticking to the facts. Rule Number 7 isn’t a promise that nothing bad will happen. It’s a reminder that panic is the enemy of good decisions. And the families who come through storms the best are almost always the ones who had a plan before things got serious.
So let’s make a plan.
Before you spend a single dollar, go look at what you already have. Pull out whatever is living in the back of your closet from last year’s hurricane kit and check expiration dates on water, food, and medications. No judgment, but I did this recently and found a bottle of barbecue sauce that expired 2022. We are all doing our best. Your kit should cover your household for at least a week without power: a gallon of water per person per day, shelf-stable foods, a manual can opener (put it on the list, trust me), flashlights, batteries, a first aid kit, and prescription medications. If you have infants, pets, or someone in your home who depends on medical equipment, build those specific needs in from the start.
Here’s something that trips people up every season — stocking up means buying a reasonable supply of what your household genuinely needs, not clearing the shelf. That goes for toilet paper too. Your neighbors are preparing alongside you, and a community that looks out for each other starts with leaving something behind for the next person. Shop intentionally. One to two weeks of essentials is the goal. Panic-buying has never made a single storm smaller.
Now, Polk County is inland, so storm surge isn’t usually our headline concern — but flooding, wind damage, and the tornadoes that spin off from storm systems absolutely are. Knowing your evacuation zone still matters, even here. Polk County Emergency Management keeps updated resources HERE, and it’s worth five minutes of your time before any storms pop up . Sign up for PCC-Alert while you’re at it — it’s the county’s free notification system, and when things get serious, you want to hear from your local officials, not just the national headlines.
A few things that tend to get skipped until it’s too late: charge everything — laptops, external battery packs, even old cell phones you don’t use anymore. A phone without an active plan can still dial 911. Before a storm arrives, fill your bathtubs and sinks with water. Line outdoor trash cans with bags, fill them with water, add a splash of bleach to sterilize, and store them in the garage — that’s your toilet-flushing supply if you lose service for a few days. Cook and freeze your perishables in advance. Hard-boil a dozen eggs. Wash your laundry. It sounds small until you’re on day three without air conditioning in a Florida summer and realize you’ve been wearing the same shirt since Tuesday.
And before the season gets busy, take pictures and video of your home and belongings right now. Document your high-value items, save everything to the cloud, and keep a digital copy of your insurance declaration page. It is the kind of five-minute task that can save you months of headaches if you ever need to file a claim.
Here’s what I think matters most, though, and it doesn’t cost a thing. Sit down with the people in your home and have the actual conversation. Where do you go if you need to leave? Who checks on the elderly neighbor down the street? What’s the out-of-state number everyone texts when local lines are jammed? Who keeps the important documents? These conversations feel unnecessary when the skies are clear, and summer is just starting. They feel desperately needed 48 hours before landfall. Have them now, over dinner, over coffee, over whatever you have in hand while you’re reading this.
When the Hurricane Milton (2024) knocked our power and cell service out for three days, we were only able to get text messages out via a satellite app, Ask your carrier (or Google) to help you get set up before you have to worry about letting your family know you are safe.
When storms are in the forecast, The Citrus Tea will be right here — sharing local updates, pointing you to resources, and keeping up with it all. And do like the native Floridians…Follow Denis Phillips on Facebook for the kind of clear-eyed forecasting that actually helps you make good decisions for your family.
Until then, Rule Number 7, Polk County. Go find your flashlights and buy some new batteries.
