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Palm Beach County outlines EOC activation timeline, urges residents to sign up for AlertPBC ahead of hurricane season
Summary
The county’s Office of Emergency Management briefed commissioners on 2026 hurricane‑season expectations, new National Hurricane Center graphics and a renewed emphasis on inland flooding risks, while staff urged residents to register for AlertPBC and noted plans to add mosquito‑spray and road‑closure opt‑ins.
Mary Blakeney, director of the Office of Emergency Management, told the Board of County Commissioners the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be below normal but warned residents to prepare regardless: "we're expecting a below average hurricane season" she said, while reminding the board that even below‑average years can cause major impacts.
Blakeney described several operational changes from the National Hurricane Center that she said will improve public understanding of risk, including a new 5‑day operational cone that shows inland watches and warnings and an experimental cone using wider (90%) along‑ and cross‑track error calculations. "This new operational cone graphic...clearly shows inland tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings," she said.
The director emphasized that hurricane hazards extend beyond the Saffir‑Simpson scale: "It's not just about the Saffir Simpson scale...it's about extreme winds, storm surge, rainfall flooding, and tornadic activity," she said, and pointed to a shift in local fatality causes toward freshwater flooding since 2013.
On county operations, deputy county administrator Tom Nadler briefed the board on emergency operations center (EOC) timing and continuity tools: protective actions and major EOC preparations begin about 120 hours before tropical‑storm‑force winds, and full EOC activation with sheltering commonly occurs 24–36 hours before landfall. Nadler also noted redundancy improvements including satellite phones and Starlink backup internet.
Commissioners pressed staff about the county's EOC facility condition and priority ranking. County administration said the EOC is a top capital need and that staff will bring a ranked project list and potential workshop to the board. The administrator said the county is "functioning" with existing assets but would like to present upgrades to better protect servers and continuity of operations.
Blakeney urged residents to take four simple preparedness steps—make a plan, build a kit, get involved and be informed—and to register for the county alert system. "Every one of our residents...register for AlertPBC," she said, noting that tornado warnings cannot be opted out and that the system now includes options to opt into mosquito‑spray and road‑closure notifications. County staff said these opt‑ins will be launched soon and coordinated with engineering and public‑works partners.
What’s next: staff will return with additional details on EOC facility plans and with an update once new AlertPBC features are live.
