Florida Hurricanes

First...you are very welcome...hope everyone is able to learn a thing or two.  Speaking of which...you have 3 or 4 questions imbedded in your post...so let me tackle each one.

Are areas of Florida more vulnerable to hurricanes?  Put another way...are there "preferred" paths that hurricanes take?  Historically...you can make the argument that indeed...there are parts of Florida that have experienced more hurricane activity than other areas.  The Florida Keys...the Big Bend and Panhandle areas of Florida certainly have had their fair share of hurricanes recently.  It seems like areas along the northern Atlantic coast as well as the Tampa/St. Petersburg have been sparred in recent years.  However...even in these areas there have been close calls (remember Hurricane Charley in 2004 making landfall just south of the Tampa Bay region). 

 Hurricane season officially starts June 1 and ends November 30 (though tropical cyclones do not follow our man-made deadlines).  Peak activity occurs from late August through most of September.  The peak occurs during the late summer/early Autumn because that is when the ocean temperatures peak in the northern hemisphere.  Think about this...especially north of the Carolinas...the ocean temperature is very chilly during Memorial Day Weekend...but is comfortably warm during Labor Day weekend.

 Your question about long range hurricane outlooks (I caution to use the word forecast for a 3-6 month advanced prediction)...is a good one.  Personally...if I owned a boat along the Gulf or Atlantic coasts...or owned beach property...I would be prepared EVERY year heading into June regardless of whether the hurricane experts were calling for a busy or quiet season.  It only takes one single hurricane to ruin your day.  In fact...in 1992...when Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida...there was below average hurricane activity that year...it just so happened that one monster storm hit as a category 5.  So...my advice is to prepare the same way regardless of the predicted amount of activity.

Indeed it is...here is the take home message regarding the long range hurricane outlooks...they are useful for specialized users of such information...but the general public...coastal residents...and boaters should prepare for the worst every June...and of course hope for the best. 

I think that is a great plan...remember...when it comes to hurricanes hitting your particular area from Texas to Maine...it often isn't "if" but "when".