Duval County

Don’t wait until the last minute to prepare for hurricane season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tuesday is the first official day of hurricane season.

Floridians are urged to prepare before it’s too late.

Will Campbell, the general manager of Ace Hardware in Jacksonville Beach, said it’s important to follow a checklist that includes things like batteries, lanterns and extension cords, which are a must, especially if you lose power during a storm.

Batteries, flashlights, extension cords — check. Have you made your hurricane prep kit yet?

WATCH: ‘Action News Jax First Alert Weather: Preparing for the Storm’

“June is the month you really want to prepare,” said Campbell.

Campbell said there’s one item that almost always flies off the shelves.

“Weather radios, when a storm hits we cannot keep these in stock. The warehouse run out so it’s very difficult to get ahold of these when the storms hit. Right now we’re loaded so it’s a good time to come and get them,” Campbell said.

While we escaped the last four years without a bad storm, Action News Jax was there when Hurricane Matthew hit Jacksonville Beach in 2016.

The pier hasn’t been fully restored yet from the damage caused by strong waves that crashed into it.

The damage caused by Irma in 2017 resulted in extensive flooding in Riverside.

This year, our First Alert Weather team is tracking an above-average hurricane season. That is why you want to prepare now.

Campbell told me you never want to wait until the last minute to buy all your hurricane supplies.

Talking the Tropics With Mike: First day of the ’21 hurricane season!

“If you wait until the storm hits what happens is people rush into to get supplies from us and we are out of stock so it’s always a good idea to prepare before the actual storm hits,” Campbell said.

The tax-free holiday runs until June 6.