NBC NEWS- The 2007 hurricane season was calm on the outside, but as stormy as ever inside the National Hurricane Center.

A new director was hired, and then removed, all in one year.

Now there's a new director in town with new plans.

The new man running the National Hurricane Center, Bill Read, is low key and a self-described weather geek.

Read said he never envisioned himself as director, but said now that he's the top man, he'll be a "hands-in" leader who is willing to jump in and make changes when they're needed.

"In this day and age nothing stays the same. What I like to do is look at everything we're doing and what we need to do things the best way we possibly can," Read said.

Read's first order of business is getting ready for the upcoming hurricane season, which is a little more than two months away. That means evaluating staffing and updating technology.

"Money was no object at all. The computer model is not in this building, but it supports the model runs we do, where we could rerun simulations and all that kind of thing to learn from them," Read said.

Over the next few weeks, other experts will be making predictions for the upcoming hurricane season.

Most notable is Dr. William Gray at Colorado State University.

Read said those type of long-range forecasts are largely irrelevant.

"Seasonal forecasts from the man on the street or even an individual business perspective is of no real...you don't change your preparations. It may be of interest to you just from a science point of view, but don't let it determine when you take actions," Read said.

Read has a message for Central Florida as well.

"Your preparation should be to shelter and protect your home. If you keep your windows from blowing in, there's a good chance your house will remain intact and you will survive the storm," Read said.

Read said his biggest concern is a storm quickly growing into a powerful storm as it approaches a major city.

Interestingly, he said Florida is vulnerable on both coasts.

He said the West Coast is risky because of the slope of the land, and the East Coast is dangerous because people build so many condos so close to the shore.

Read is stepping into a hurricane center that saw a lot of controversy last year.

His predecessor Bill Proenza stirred up controversy when he claimed a key satellite was about to fail and would make forecasting tougher.

Read said he does not agree with that, and he said there are enough backups to keep people safe.