TAMPA, Fla. -- When skies are clear and air is dry, it is difficult for civilians to worry about severe weather. However, with active storm predictions hovering around the impending hurricane season, the one true enemy can be complacency.

Authorities are warning residents to take the time to develop a hurricane plan before the a storm approaches, and forecasters said a busy season is predicted.

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"Twelve to 16 named storms, six to nine hurricanes, and two to five major hurricanes (are predicted)." forecaster Gerry Bell said.

At MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, forecasters also predicted a 90 percent chance for an above-normal season. They said they've noticed warmer than normal temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean since 1995, and that can lead to more powerful storms.

"The attitude of thinking it won't happen to you will not keep you safe," Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher Jr. said.

Being prepared can be the key to survival, and while the Federal Emergency Management Agency aims to help in a storm's aftermath, government officials emphasize the need for self-preparedness.

"The biggest advice you can give Floridians this year is to take the season very seriously," FEMA Administrator David Paulison said. "I don't know what the predictions are going to be, but it doesn't matter. One hurricane, like Hurricane Andrew in 1992, can give you a bad day."

Paulison stressed the importance of having flashlights, batteries and portable radios. He also passed on the lessons FEMA learned itself post-Hurricane Katrina.

"We're going to be moving in early, moving supplies in early, more people in earlier," Paulison said.

FEMA has several partnerships, and one of them is to protect the people. But officials said it is everyone's job to be prepared.

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