Hurricane Season Preparedness With St. Pete Fire Rescue Expo

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — St. Petersburg residents will get a free hurricane preparedness kit at the upcoming Drive-Thru Hurricane Expo at a local recreation center.

St. Pete Fire Rescue and Pinellas County Emergency Management will give free kits to the first 500 cars that show up to the expo May 22. The kit includes information and supplies that have been donated by community organizations.

Hurricane season begins June 1 to Nov. 30. The World Meteorological Organization's Hurricane Committee recently released this season's names of hurricanes. This year's list of names, last used in 2015, includes two new names — Elsa and Julian — after two tropical storms, Erika and Joaquin, caused so much damage in 2015 that their names were removed by the organization, the Miami Patch reported.

Last year, Florida saw a record number of 30 storms. Hurricane researchers at Colorado State University predicted an "above average" year last month.

The Drive-Thru Hurricane Expo is scheduled Saturday, 9 a.m.- 11 a.m., or while supplies last, Lake Vista Recreation Center, 1401 62nd Avenue South, St. Petersburg.

Related Patch Stories:

• From Ana And Bill To Victor And Wanda, Hurricane Season Shapes Up

Patch reporter Jeff Arnold contributed to this report.