Are You Ready for Hurricane Weather?

Hurricane Preparation in Advance of the Season

• Create a disaster plan to protect yourself and your family. Planning how you will take cover in your home or evacuate, if necessary, can help reduce anxiety and minimize loss of life and property.
• Designate an evacuation point outside the area. Choose a safe place, such as a friend's or relative's house, far enough away from your area to minimize the chance that you'll have to evacuate again. Have a back-up option just in case you're unable to stay at your primary evacuation point.
• Put together an emergency kit. Your kit should include non-perishable food, water, first aid supplies, flashlights, camping supplies (stove, battery-powered lantern, etc.), extra batteries, blankets and any personal items you may need (medications, toiletries, clothing). If you have pets, make sure your pets also have adequate supplies. Plan for a week's worth of supplies for each person. You'll need at least four gallons of water per person for a week.
• Research ways to protect your house. Storm shutters and other alternatives can provide protection for your house learn how to use them properly before hurricane season starts.
• Document your belongings. Photograph or videotape your personal belongings. Make a written list to accompany your photos or video. Store the documentation in a waterproof container or in a safe place outside of your house such as a relative's house or safe deposit box.

As the Hurricane Weather Approaches…

• Inspect drains and pipes. Make sure roof and floor drains are functional and clear of debris.
• Secure doors and windows. Protect windows from flying debris, and make sure that the doors and windows will stay latched.
• Move objects indoors or anchor them outside. Anything that could be moved by high winds could be potentially dangerous and should be secured or moved inside.
• Prepare your car in case of evacuation. Fill your gas tank and check your tires. Put emergency supplies in your car.
• Protect important documents in waterproof containers. Make copies and keep them in a safe deposit box or a friend's or relative's house outside the area.
• Fill the bathtub with water to use for non-drinking purposes. In addition to drinking water, you'll need water for bathing and flushing the toilet. Line your bathtub with plastic sheeting before filling it.

Hurricane Weather Terminology

Category 1 - 5: The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 categorization based on a hurricane's intensity at the indicated time. The scale provides examples of the type of damages and impacts in the United States associated with winds of the indicated intensity.

Category One Hurricane: Sustained winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt or 119-153 km/hr). Damaging winds are expected. Some damage to building structures could occur, primarily to unanchored mobile homes (mainly pre-1994 construction). Some damage is likely to poorly constructed signs. Loose outdoor items will become projectiles, causing additional damage. Persons struck by windborne debris risk injury and possible death. Numerous large branches of healthy trees will snap. Some trees will be uprooted, especially where the ground is saturated. Many areas will experience power outages with some downed power poles. Hurricane Cindy (pdf) (2005, 75 mph winds at landfall in Louisiana) and Hurricane Gaston (2004, 75 mph winds at landfall in South Carolina) are examples of Category One hurricanes at landfall.

Category Two Hurricane: Sustained winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt or 154-177 km/hr). Very strong winds will produce widespread damage. Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings will occur. Considerable damage to mobile homes (mainly pre-1994 construction) and poorly constructed signs is likely. A number of glass windows in high rise buildings will be dislodged and become airborne. Loose outdoor items will become projectiles, causing additional damage. Persons struck by windborne debris risk injury and possible death.. Numerous large branches will break. Many trees will be uprooted or snapped. Extensive damage to power lines and poles will likely result in widespread power outages that could last a few to several days. Hurricane Erin (1995, 100 mph at landfall in northwest Florida) and Hurricane Isabel (2003, 105 mph at landfall in North Carolina) are examples of Category Two hurricanes at landfall.

Category Three Hurricane: Sustained winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr). Dangerous winds will cause extensive damage. Some structural damage to houses and buildings will occur with a minor amount of wall failures. Mobile homes (mainly pre-1994 construction) and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Many windows in high rise buildings will be dislodged and become airborne. Persons struck by windborne debris risk injury and possible death. Many trees will be snapped or uprooted and block numerous roads. Near total power loss is expected with outages that could last from several days to weeks. Hurricane Rita (pdf) (2005, 115 mph landfall in east Texas/Louisiana) and Hurricane Jeanne (2004, 120 mph landfall in southeast Florida) are examples of Category Three hurricanes at landfall.

Category Four Hurricane: Sustained winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt or 210-249 km/hr). Extremely dangerous winds causing devastating damage are expected. Some wall failures with some complete roof structure failures on houses will occur. All signs are blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes (primarily pre-1994 construction). Extensive damage to doors and windows is likely. Numerous windows in high rise buildings will be dislodged and become airborne. Windborne debris will cause extensive damage and persons struck by the wind-blown debris will be injured or killed. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted. Fallen trees could cut off residential areas for days to weeks. Electricity will be unavailable for weeks after the hurricane passes. Hurricane Charley (2004, 145 mph at landfall in southwest Florida) and Hurricane Hugo (1989, 140 mph at landfall in South Carolina) are examples of Category Four hurricanes at landfall.

Category Five Hurricane: Sustained winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt or 249 km/hr). Catastrophic damage is expected. Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings will occur. Some complete building failures with small buildings blown over or away are likely. All signs blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes (built in any year). Severe and extensive window and door damage will occur. Nearly all windows in high rise buildings will be dislodged and become airborne. Severe injury or death is likely for persons struck by wind-blown debris. Nearly all trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Hurricane Camille (pdf) (1969, 190 mph at landfall in Mississippi) and Hurricane Andrew (1992, 165 mph at landfall in Southeast Florida) are examples of Category Five hurricanes at landfall.

Eye: The relatively calm center of the tropical cyclone that is more than one half surrounded by wall cloud

Hurricane: A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone-the general term for all circulating weather systems (counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere) over tropical waters. Hurricanes are products of the tropical ocean and atmosphere. Powered by heat from the sea, they are steered by the easterly trade winds and the temperate westerlies as well as by their own ferocious energy. Around their core, winds grow with great velocity, generating violent seas. Moving ashore, they sweep the ocean inward while spawning tornadoes and producing torrential rains and floods

Storm Surge: An abnormal rise in sea level accompanying a hurricane or other intense storm, and whose height is the difference between the observed level of the sea surface and the level that would have occurred in the absence of the cyclone. Storm surge is usually estimated by subtracting the normal or astronomic high tide from the observed storm tide.

Storm Tide: The actual level of sea water resulting from the astronomic tide combined with the storm surge.

Tropical Cyclone: A warm-core, non-frontal low pressure system of synoptic scale that develops over tropical or subtropical waters and has a definite organized surface circulation.

Tropical Storm: A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind speed (using the U.S. 1-minute average) ranges from 34 kt (39 mph or 63 kph) to 63 kt (73 mph or 118 kph).

Tropical Storm: A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind speed (using the U.S. 1-minute average) ranges from 34 kt (39 mph or 63 kph) to 63 kt (73 mph or 118 kph).

Hurricane Watch: An announcement of specific coastal areas that a hurricane or an incipient hurricane condition poses a possible threat, generally within 36 hours.