Florida Hurricanes and Hurricane Preparedness

With Hurricane Earl being, at one point, a Category 4 Major Storm, Floridians are starting to think about the over-active season. What if one of the storms hits Florida again? We haven't had a strong hurricane in Florida in quite a while. Most people relaxed and forgot about what hurricane season usually means. For those who are a recent Florida resident, future Florida resident or just someone who'd like to refresh their hurricane knowledge, here are a few points and websites to remember.


If you're one of those people who finds hurricanes exciting ( but never wants one to hit the US), you have probably been tracking every single storm of the year. Danielle was the first one to get to the Major Storm Category (Cat. 5) this season, but thankfully, swung out to sea before making any landfall. Most storms that manage to lose the trade winds are going to swing up and miss Florida. It's the low passing storms that we need to worry about, like current Gaston.

An important thing for Floridians is knowing how and where to track storms. The best place is to go straight to the source: National Hurricane Center (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/) It gives up to date graphical information on all active storms, including satellite views of the hurricanes. All the storms have a 3 day and 5 day prediction with the cone of uncertainty marking where the storm might go. It tends to be pretty accurate. When looking at the cone of uncertainty, note that S means Storm, H means Hurricane and M means Major Hurricane ( Cat 3 and above)

All Atlantic storms originate from the west coast of Africa as simple thunderstorms. Once they hit the warm waters of near-equator Atlantic waters, they accelerate, grabbing up the moisture from the sea, with earth's rotation moving them west to US East Coast.

A few pointers for Southwest Florida Hurricane Preparedness.

1. As a new resident of Florida, the first thing I would do is sign up for email alerts from HNC. That way you'll be notified every time there's a tropical storm.

2. Learn Southwest Florida evacuation routes (pdf) that you might have to use in case of a big storm.

3. Find out if you live in a Surge Zone and make sure you're protected with flood insurance. Standard homeowners insurance won't cover the damage if it has any evidence of flood. Collier Surge Map Lee Surge Map

4. Make a plan of action in case of a hurricane: where you would go, what you'd need to take with you, how will you transport and house your pets.

5. Decide with your family at which point you would evacuate. Most newer homes withstand winds up to 110 mph (Cat 2), however if you're located close to the coast, flooding is a bigger danger. Follow all government evacuation orders. When the conditions are really bad, all the emergency services cease operation. Listen (wmv files) what happened to people who ignored evacuation orders. Read about (pdf) 2 people who tried to tough it out during Hurricane Ike.

6. Get educated! Read the Collier County Hurricane Preparedness Guide


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re-blogged from www.AndrewOllick.com/realestateblog


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