The National Hurricane Center, as of this morning, has tropical storm development in the next 48 hours, but Escambia County Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore warns that we have yet to hit the height of hurricane season.
“We ran the GFS (Global Forecast System) models yesterday afternoon, and the GFS had something around Sept. 11 coming into the Gulf,” Gilmore said on “Real News with Rick Outzen” this morning. “That’s far out, and the GFS is kind of wacky doing that, and it’s pretty aggressive, so we don’t pay stock into it until we get seven days and things shore up.”
He warned, “I don’t want people to let their guard down just because we haven’t had a named storm. We are getting into the height of our season. The middle of September is when we start seeing a lot of activity historically. So I want people to be prepared and take advantage of the tax breaks.”
Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday, Aug. 24 – Sept. 6
“All Floridians should be prepared for natural disasters,” said Jim Zingale, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Revenue. “This hurricane season is predicted to be unusually active. This sales tax holiday will help consumers save when they build their emergency supply kits.”
$10 or less
- Wet dog or cat food if sold individually or the equivalent if sold in a box or case
$15 or less
- Manual can openers
- Collapsible or travel-sized food or water bowls for pets
- Cat litter pans
- Pet waste disposal bags
- Hamster or rabbit substrate
$20 or less
- Reusable ice
- Leashes, collars, and muzzles for pets
- Pet pads
$25 or less
- Cat litter weighing 25 or fewer pounds
$40 or less
- Portable self-powered light sources
- Pet beds
$50 or less
- Portable self-powered radios, two-way radios, or weather-band radios
- Gas or diesel fuel tanks
- Batteries, including rechargeable batteries, listed sizes only:
- AA-cell
- AAA-cell
- C-cell
- D-cell
- 6-volt
- 9-volt
$60 or less
- Nonelectric food storage coolers
- Portable power banks
- $70 or less
- Smoke detectors or smoke alarms
- Fire extinguishers
- Carbon monoxide detectors
$100 or less
- Tarpaulins or other flexible waterproof sheeting
- Ground anchor systems
- Portable pet kennels or pet carriers
- Dry dog or cat food weighing 50 or fewer pounds
- Over-the-counter pet medications
$3,000 or less
- Portable generators used to provide light or communications or to preserve food in a power outage
For a complete list of qualifying items, visit floridarevenue.com/DisasterPrep.