Hurricanes can be scary and disastrous, but that doesn’t mean you cannot prepare for them. With the proper preparation, you can ready yourself for before, during, and after the storm. By knowing what to do in case of hurricane events, you can keep your family safe and sound. Please take a look at the list we’ve provided below of safety tips and tricks to follow in preparing for a hurricane, staying safe while it’s happening, and dealing with its aftermath.

What to Do Before a Hurricane

With prior warning, there are a lot of precautions you can take to prepare for a natural disaster. Here’s what to do in case of hurricane warnings, to help you prepare the best way you can.

Prepare an Emergency Kit

Emergency kits are great for any type of disaster or emergency, but in the event of a hurricane, they can be vital. Your emergency kit should include at least 1 gallon of water per person (per day, for at least 3 days), a 3-day supply of non-perishable food, batteries and a radio, flashlights, a first-aid kit, whistles or flares, extra clothes, maps, medications (if necessary), supplies for your pet/s, and a warm blanket/sleeping bag for each person, according to FEMA.

Should you lose power or are forced to evacuate, your basic supplies should be ready-to-go. Including a disposable or digital camera with extra film/batteries could also be beneficial, to ensure you can document damage properly.

Make a Plan

Be sure to communicate with your family and discuss a plan that is understood by each member. Each member of the family should know their role and know exactly what to do in case of hurricane emergencies.

Educate Yourself and Secure Your Property

Try to figure out the elevation of your property, which areas are flood-prone, and determine which areas of your property will be most affected. Also, ensure that you know your community’s evacuation routes. You should cover all your home’s windows (preferably with permanent storm shutters or plywood). Remove all loose items from your property and exterior of the home, reinforce your garage door/s, and install generators. Preparing your home can help minimize damage.

Stay Alert

A battery-operated radio is a great way to always get up-to-date information on emergencies. Listen carefully for instructions, and always follow your family’s plan as well as the community’s.

When Told to, EVACUATE

If there is ever an emergency-alert, advising you to evacuate, it is imperative you do so. Evacuations are only issued when the hurricane-threat is extremely dangerous and staying behind could mean risking your property and life.

What to Do During a Hurricane

It is essential to know what to do in case of hurricane emergencies, because quick-thinking is invaluable. When you’ve finished preparing and the hurricane arrives, follow these steps:

Always Stay Inside

If asked to evacuate, you should follow your community’s evacuation routes and remember to take your emergency kits with you. If you have not been asked to evacuate, you may not be out of danger yet. When the hurricane arrives, be sure to always stay indoors. Stay away from windows, doors, and other areas of the house that are more susceptible to damage. Try hunkering down in an interior room on the lower level of the home.

Do not go outside for any reason. According to The University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, there could be periods of calm, followed by periods of extreme wind and hurricane-force. It is essential to stay indoors unless alerted to do otherwise.

Turn off Your Electricity

Often in emergencies, it can be easy to panic and forget simple things. When the hurricane has arrived, be sure to turn off your electricity at the main breaker, to avoid fires and other dangers. Also, do not try to use any power-driven appliances or devices during the hurricane.

Don’t Forget Your Essentials

No matter where you are, whether it be hunkered down in your home or in an evacuation shelter, always make sure your emergency kits are easily accessed and can be easily carried with you in a moment’s notice. Use your kits sparingly, because it is better to be prepared for future-need.

Listen to Emergency Broadcasts

Emergency broadcasts will be your lifeline during a hurricane, especially when you have lost power. Having your radio handy can alert you to evacuations, rescue efforts, and tell you when the danger has passed. Always listen to these broadcasts for the most up-to-date instructions.

What to Do After a Hurricane

It can be hard to determine what to do in case of hurricane emergencies, after it has passed. Following these steps can help make for an easier transition after the hurricane has hit:

Keep Your Guard Up

Just because the worst of the hurricane is over, doesn’t mean all the danger has passed. Always listen to your broadcast system or the local news for the latest updates and follow instructions promptly. If you were asked to evacuate, only return when officials deem it safe.

Keep Away from Danger

Stay away from flooded areas, including roads and washed out bridges. Follow safety routes outlined by officials, and always stay away from loose power lines and electric wires. According to The American National Red Cross, you should avoid drinking or using water until you know it is no contaminated, check food for spoilage, and wear protective clothing during clean-up.

Document Everything

No matter how small the damage may appear, you should document and photograph every bit of your property and home. This will come in-handy when it comes to reporting your damage for insurance claims.

Start to Rebuild

For serious damage, you’ll want to seek professional help. For most people who have insurance, your hurricane-damage should be covered. Before serious construction can be done, you can ensure windows are covered with wood, and clean up the best you can. Try to keep all of your receipts, report your losses as soon as possible, and return all necessary claim forms.

Summing Up

Knowing what to do in case of hurricane disasters can mean the difference between life and death. With the proper preparations before-hand and the correct actions during the storm, you can endure and keep your family safe. Always remember to educate yourself, be prepared, listen to local broadcasts, and think smart.

What do you think of our hurricane preparation list? Feel free to share your emergency experiences and tell us what you would add.

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Among the most aggressive storms on Earth, hurricanes can reach as far as 600 miles wide. These storms form along the equator over temperate ocean waters and typically last over a week. Hurricanes require specific conditions to form and play an important role in moving heat from tropical regions to more temperate zones. Understanding where and how do hurricanes form is crucial to efficiently predict their impact and navigate the potential cataclysmic effects they can render.

What Is a Hurricane?

Also known as tropical cyclones, hurricanes are storms that form over tropical and subtropical waters. The storms are comprised of groups of organized thunderstorms with no fronts. To be classified as a hurricane the storm front must follow a rotating motion and be part of a low-pressure system. When these storms have surface winds less than 39 miles per hour, they are known as tropical depressions. As they pick up speed and reach win speeds of 39 miles per hour, they become known as tropical storms.

After a tropical storm reaches a maximum wind speed of 74 miles per hour, it becomes known as a hurricane. Hurricanes are classified by their relative wind speed using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which has a numerical rating from 1 to 5. The higher the number or category a hurricane is given, the greater potential it has for damage.

In theory, hurricanes may occur nearly any time. However, they are most common during “Hurricane Season” between June 1 and November 30. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center predicts and tracks these storm systems. It has found that they often occur around 12 times per year in the Atlantic basin.

How Do Hurricanes Form?

Tropical cyclones require specific conditions to form. The first component needed for a hurricane to begin forming is warm, moist air. This air serves as the “fuel” needed for the storm to engage and further develop. The warm, moist air needed only forms over warm ocean water, which is why these cyclones form almost exclusively in the tropics regions where the ocean temperature is warmer – typically 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

In addition to warm, moist air, the storm also needs wind to form. This wind must pass over the ocean’s surface, causing water to evaporate and rise. This movement and the subsequent rising of the water vapor causes it to cool and condense into water droplets. The condensation forms large cumulonimbus clouds that are one of the first indicators that a storm is brewing.

Meteorologists who study how do hurricanes form have divided the development of hurricanes into four stages: tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm, and tropical cyclone.

1. Tropical Disturbance

As water vapor that arises from warm ocean water condenses, it forms clouds and releases heat into the air. This heated air rises and forms columns of clouds. Evaporation and condensation persist and build the columns of clouds taller and wider. A pattern begins to develop, and wind begins circulating down the center. As this moving formation broaches additional clouds, a cluster of thunderstorms is formed, which is known as a tropical disturbance.

2. Tropical Depression

As the group of thunderstorm clouds grows ever taller and wider, air at the height of the cloud column begins cooling, making it unstable. The process of cooling water vapor releases heat energy, so the air at the top of the column becomes warmer. This increase in temperature as increases the air pressure, making winds move outward and away from the high pressure area. Continued movement and warming forces the pressure at the surface to drop. This creates a cycle in which the air at the surface shifts toward the lower pressure areas, rises, and generates additional thunderstorms. Wind in the columns begins spinning faster, creating a circular spinning motion. As the winds reach speeds between 25 and 39 miles per hour, the storm becomes known as a tropical depression.

3. Tropical Storm

As the storm picks up additional speed and winds reach a rate of 39 miles per hour, the depression develops into what is known as a tropical storm. The winds also begin blowing faster and start twisting and turning around the eye, or the still center, of the storm. In the northern hemisphere, wind direction moves from west to east, and in the southern hemisphere, it moves east to west. This unique phenomenon is known as the Coriolis Effect.

4. Tropical Cyclone

As the storm continues to pick up speed reaches wind speeds of 74 miles per hour, the storm officially becomes known as a tropical cyclone. At this point, the storm is likely at least 50,000 feet high and nearly 125 miles across, and the eye is between 5 and 30 miles wide. The movement of the wind and the force of the pressure in the air, create a mound of water at the base of the storm, which can cause catastrophic storm surges as the storm moves inland.

Where Do Hurricanes Occur Most Often?

Knowing how do hurricanes form is not the only thing that helps understand these storms. Knowing where they occur is also important.

To form, hurricanes need all of the right “ingredients.” As such, these tropical storms occur near shores and coastlines. In particular, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans produce the largest number of tropical cyclones. More specifically, the West Pacific tends to generate far more hurricanes than the Atlantic. Depending on where the storm generates, a number of areas may be impacted, including the Philippines, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and the southern United States, including Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

To date, only one hurricane has ever formed in the South Atlantic – Hurricane Catarina – because of how do hurricanes form. Most Atlantic cyclones form between August and September.

In any case, the atmosphere has a lot to do with the creation of tropical storms because of how do hurricanes form.

To form, the right conditions must align, including:

• Warm sea-surface temperatures, typically greater than 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Weak vertical wind shear.
• Moist, unstable atmosphere.
• Appropriate distance in relation to the equator.

Hurricanes are unique storm systems that form under very specific atmospheric conditions. They occur in the tropics and most often in the Pacific. A tropical storm develops through four stages before becoming a full-fledged hurricane. Once formed, hurricanes often continue moving until they encounter a force that slows them down.

In many cases, that means that the storm will continue moving until it meets land where it is no longer being fed by the energy necessary to drive them. Recent weather research and tracking has given meteorologists more information on how do hurricanes form, allowing them to predict and even mediate tropical storms more effectively.

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