The official hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, and hurricane season is typically slow to start, with a strong finish.

Like the previous two years, this one got off to an early start. This year's first system, Tropical Storm Arlene, formed in April.

A typical season, however, doesn't see the first system forming until a week or two in July, and the first hurricane doesn't typically form until a third of the way through August.

That's partially because tropical storms and hurricanes feed off of the warm, tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. And just like all water, it takes some time for the oceans to warm up.

That's usually why the hurricane season begins to pick up so quickly toward the end of August and into September, likely lasting into November.

At that point, the waters have been warming up for most of the spring and summer. The warmer water is typically able to fuel more and larger hurricanes, everything else being equal.

The fact that it may be months before a hurricane forms is no reason to wait to get prepared for one. Supplies are usually harder to find after a storm is headed for land. Plus, all hurricane supplies are tax free this weekend in hurricane prone Florida.

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