Every year, Norwall PowerSystems participates in the annual “Hurricane Preparedness Campaign with content and resources. The 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season (June 1 to November 30) is less than a month away. Most Tropical Cyclones form during this period, but formation is possible at any time of the year.
The primary characteristic of a tropical cyclone is the source of energy—warm ocean surface water—typically near the tropics or subtropics. Water molecules gain energy (heat) to evaporate and rise into the atmosphere where they condense into clouds (releasing energy). Tropical Cyclones range in strength from Depressions to Major Hurricanes. Wind speed is the main difference between Depressions, Storms, and Hurricanes.
Hurricanes get the most press and air time, often with famous weather personalities leaning into the wind as rain pours down in buckets. Leave the adventure to the weather personalities and tune into local weather and official news instead.
Potential Tropical Cyclone (PTC)
When an area of activity has the potential to become a tropical storm or hurricane within 72 hours, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) may issues advisories. Some cyclones develop so rapidly that without the PTC advisories, people in the path of the storm may not have time to prepare. Potential Tropical Cyclone advisories provide advance warning before the storm becomes a tropical cyclone.
Tropical Depression (TD)
A Tropical Depression is the least powerful of the four stages of hurricane development. Not all Tropical Depressions become stronger. Depressions have a sustained (1 minute) wind speed at the surface of 38 MPH or less. The strongest winds are at the center of circulation, which may not always occur at the center of the storm. Tropical Depressions are given numbers by the NHC until they become a tropical storm or hurricane.
Tropical Storm (TS)
Tropical Storms have sustained surface winds from 39 to 73 MPH. Strong tropical storms are approaching hurricane strength and may cause as much damage as a Category 1 Hurricane. A tropical storm can carry enormous amounts of water, resulting in extensive flooding. TS Alice inundated Houston with more than 40 inches of rain, flooding the city forcing more than 30,000 people out of their homes. At least 23 people died.
Hurricane (H) Major Hurricane (M)
Hurricanes are the most powerful tropical cyclones. Commonly rated according to the Saffir-Simpson from Category 1 to Category 5. A rating of Category 3 or higher classifies the storm as a Major Hurricane. The “eye” is an area of calm at the very center surrounded by the eye wall. Hurricane size varies from 60 miles to more than 1200 in diameter. Storm Sure is the most dangerous risk that hurricanes bring to land.
Know Your Risk: Water & Wind
The greatest risk from a hurricane or tropical storm is water. Storm Surge results from a mound of water that comes ashore during a hurricane. Katrina inundated New Orleans with a 23-foot surge while other areas were hit with 40 feet or more.
Wind makes great television coverage. So great, the major weather outlets send meteorologists to the landfall zone where they try to find the most extreme wind to stand in and talk about how strong the wind. Meanwhile, storm surge and flooding are causing more damage and taking more lives than all other factors combined.
Properly equipped and strengthened, your home can withstand the onslaught of a hurricane. You might lose shingles in the direct path of a storm, but your home should remain intact. Keep the wind out of the house, and the house will keep it’s roof. Prepare Your Home for a Hurricane.
- Do you live in a flood prone area? Do You Have Flood Insurance, which differs from Homeowner Insurance?
- Are you in an evacuation zone? Do you have an evacuation plan and know your route?
- What are your home’s structural risks and what have you done to mitigate damage? Mobile Homes and basments are especially vulnerable.
Storm Surge: Ocean water driven driven by the extreme wind and assisted by atmospheric pressure rises into a mound that moves ashore with the storm, causing extensive flooding and structural damage. Hurricane Katrina brought a storm surge of 28 feet. Surges of over 40 feet are on record.
Flooding: Heavy rain falls so fast that natural drainages can’t keep up. Rivers rage and take out roadways and bridges, and houses along their banks. Lakes and streams overflow and spread into nearby homes. Water gathers in flood zones where it floods houses.
Wind: The sustained wind of a major hurricane is at least 157 MPH. Hurricane Wilma in 2005 had systained winds of 185 MPH. Tornadoes are another source of wind. They are another form of cyclone that spin off from the hurricane. Some hurricanes have spawned. 120 Tornadoes from Hurricane Ivan struck nine states from Florida to Pennsylvania.
RIP Currents: Water coming into shore directed by sand bars and other features can form a fast moving current that carries the water and anything caught in it away from land. Even in shallow water, it can knock a person down and carry them up to half a mile. Learn to escape a RIP Current.
Power Outages: Hurricanes cause so much damage to local distribution grids that states call utilities in other states to assist with the repairs. If you’re in a hurricane, expect to lose power for at least a day or more. Some utility customers will find themselves without power for days or weeks. Following Hurricane Sandy, some customers were left without power for up to 5 weeks. How to Stay Safe During a Power Outage.
Prepare Before Hurricane Season
Preseason Hurricane prep is the key to making good decisions that protect your family and home. A Hurricane Watch provides 48 hours of advance warning, and a Hurricane Warning comes only 36 hours before tropical storm force winds begin reaching land.
The National Hurricane Center issues a Hurricane Warning and you’re right in the forecast path. You’re close to shore, so a storm surge is definitely possible, and you live in an evacuation zone. If it’s a strong storm, officials are already preparing to issue evacuation orders.
You’re suddenly faced with a long list of things to do, not the least of which is evacuating, and you don’t have a plan. With less than a day and a half at most to prepare your home, pack, and leave, you won’t get everything done.
If it’s not done already, the list will appear endless and you won’t have time to gather everything you need. Home centers, hardware stores, and lumberyards will run out of plywood, generators, gas cans, and propane. Residents will overwhelm local gas stations and empty the storage tanks if tankers can’t reach the station to replenish supplies. Grocery stores run out of essentials as desperate shoppers look for canned goods and staples.
Evacuation Plan: Everyone along the coast should make an evacuation plan. If official order evacuations, try to be the first out of town to avoid miles long traffic jams.
Disaster Supplies: There’s a long list here. Everything from food and water (minimum 3 days) to medicine, batteries, chargers, clothing, cash, important documents, and a radio are just a start.
Insurance Checkup: Not going to happen the day before a hurricane hits. You need flood insurance, and there is a waiting period before it goes into effect. Remember to include your insurance policies in your documentation. List and photograph important possessions. Have copies of important documents.
Communication Plan: In the midst of a disaster, communication can become difficult. Following Helene, North Carolina residents found themselves with limited access to communications. Make a list of contacts, put someone you trust in charge of contacting everyone else, and make all communications through that person.
Strengthen Your Home: Keep the wind out, Keep your home. Cover windows with hurricane shutters or plywood. Install Hurricane Rated patio doors and garage doors. All of this takes planning and action. You’re not going to run down to the home center a few hours before the hurricane hits, get a few pieces of plywood and all the lag screws required, go home, cut them to size, and bolt them to the house before the storm hits. If you’re using plywood, cut it in advance and have it ready to mount the house frame with holes drilled for lag screws.
Understand Forecast Information
Don’t mistake entertainment for accurate information. A meteorologist bent over against the wind—that’s entertainment. Following your local NWS office for up to date information, listening to your weather radio, and checking the NHC—That’s accurate information.
We all have our favorite forecaster. You know, the meteorologist who’s been with the station for most of their life and lets you know that your weekend picnic or camping trip won’t be rained out. They mix in a bit of humor with facts, banter with the co-anchors, and deliver current temperatures and conditions with a well practiced flare.
The National Hurricane Center specializes in tropical weather forecasting. When a hurricane is hours away from landfall, you need the most accurate and up to date information available, and that is going to come from your local National Weather Service office, or from the National Hurricane Center.
The NHC is very good about providing frequent live updates, usually by the director. You can access these live updates on Social Media by following the National Hurricane Center in Florida on social media.
Inside the Eye is an excellent resource by the National Hurricane Center with information about hurricanes and hurricane preparedness.
Find your local NWS Office. Enter your zip code and go to a local forecast by the National Weather Service office closest to you.
Forecast Cone: At one time, the forecast cone was an attempt to predict where a hurricane or tropical storm might have impacts. “Are we inside the cone?” was a common question. That is no longer the case. Dangerous impacts can occur well outside the forecast cone. Focus on potential impacts, not on the cone itself.
Hurricane Watch: Get Ready to Take Action. Issued 48 Hours in Advance of a potential landfall.
Hurricane Warning: Take Action Now! The hurricane is coming and will be here in 36 hours or less.
Get Moving When a Storm Threatens
Don’t waste time when a storm threatens. Put your emergency disaster plan into action as you prepare to leave or stay, depending on your situation and level of preparedness. If evacuation orders come, leave as soon as possible.
There’s no time to waste. Even if you start preparations before the NHC issues the first watch, there is so much to do from prepping your home, to helping your neighbors. If you have elderly family members or young children, they are another consideration. So are pets. In you evacuate, where will your pet go? Do you have a plan for them, too? It should not include abandonment. Know that emergency shelters often do not take pets.
Home: Cover the windows with heavy plywood secured to the frame with lagbolts. Secure large doors in a similar fashion. Move anything not firmly anchored in concrete inside. Pick up debris, cut loose branches from trees.
Shelter: If you’re planning on going to a local shelter, make advance arrangements for your pets. Find out ahead of time if your shelter takes pets, and verify every year. Leaving town? Take them with you.
Go-Bag: Your Go-Bag should be ready. Verify everything so nothing gets left behind hind. Remember Meds, Documentation, Supplies, Snacks, Shelter-in-Place supplies. Fill your vehicle tanks or keep them at full charge. Charge your phones and charge extra batteries as well.
Generator: Check oil. Check fuel and oil supplies. If the next oil change is only a few hours away, do it now instead of waiting. Prepare your generator shelter. Inspect extention cords or generator cords. Have a place at least 10-20-feet from your home that you can secure your generator. Never run a generator indoors. Follow All Generator Safety Rules.
Stay Protected During Storms
Your plan should include a safe space—an interior room without windows—that keeps you out of the water and wind. Ideally, your safe space has reinforced walls and enough room to make everyone comfortable, including pets.
You’re ready. The house is strong and prepared for anything. You’ve got supplies and everything you need to settle in and listen to the wind howl while you wait for the hurricane to pass. As the wind picks up, you might be tempted to venture out, just to see what it’s like, make a quick TikTok or Reel, or see if that weatherman is really risking his life (they are.)
Why take a chance? You’ve gone to all the effort to do it right, now is not the time to get hit in the face by a flying branch or piece of roofing or a skateboard left out by the kid down the block.
Your safe space is the best space. Bored? Play board games, keep the kids entertained with stories of your wondrous youth, or challenge Grampa to checkers or cribbage marathon. But don’t go outside until the wind subsides and the water recedes.
Stay tuned to local weather forecasts. Follow the NHC and NWS for updates. Check social media for advice from local officials. NOAA weather radios are an excellent source of information. Another good source of information is the FEMA app available at your favorite app store.
Keep in mind that you might not have access to groceries or water for a few days. Use those resources wisely. Only run your generator as necessary, and never run it indoors. Ever. If you have cell service, provide updates to your designated contact.
Use Caution After Storms
The storm has passed, but some of the worst hazards have not. Water remains a big risk with raw sewage, hidden power lines, washed out roads, and dangerous debris. Beware of heat & Humidity. Don’t create hazards—keep generators outside, never inside. Stay safe by exercising patience during cleanup. Remember that help and comunication may not be available.
Did you evacuate? Don’t return until local authorities clear the way and give the okay. You might encouter unpassable roads or dangers that you can’t see. Utility crews need to work unimpeded by local traffic. Everyone wants to see for themselves how their home and property fared, but trying to return too soon will only inconvenience you and the people trying to get your road open.
If you stayed, remember the hazards you can’t see or might not expect. Downed power lines, possibly hidden in water, could still be live at much higher voltages than you expect. Heat & humidity can take their toll, and if you don’t have the A/C running, cooling off could be a problem.
Stay out of floodwater. It’s polluted with chemicals, human waste products, animal waste products, and dead animals. Simply wading in it could make you seriously ill. You might not see the washed out road or bridge or the board with spikes waiting to impale your leg or foot.
Portable generators are safe if used properly, which means outdoors where the exhaust won’t enter your home or someone else’s. Never use a generator in any enclosed space, not even your garage or shed with the doors wide open. Use heavy duty extension cords rated for the outlet they plug into. 20-Amp generator outlets need 20-amp extensions cords. Don’t forget to check the oil daily and change it on time (every 1-4 days, depending on model and manufacturer.)
Communications may be spotty. When possible, check in with your designated family member who can update your information to the rest of your family and friends.
Check in with neighbors, especially elderly or disabled.
Disaster areas are targets for scammers and fraudsters looking to separate you from the cash in your pocket. Beware of out of state contractors offering to fix things for cash on the spot, or the guy with a gallon of water for twenty dollars who can’t make change. Look for other sources and report them to local authorities. Chances are good that if you had enough for three days, you’ll have official supply sources within that time.
Take Action Today
The time to prepare is well before a storm threatens your family and home. Remember, it only takes one storm to make your hurricane season, an active season. Don’t Delay, Act Today. Be Hurricane Strong.
Hurricane Season is less than a month away. Unless an early hurricane forms, there is still plenty of time to prepare before the first storms threaten our coast.
- Determine your risk from water & wind.
- Make a plan for home prep, family prep, supplies, evacuation, pets, neighbors, family members.
- Prepare a “Go Bag”. A container with supplies specifically for leaving in a hurrye. Special go bags for everyone make it simple to ensure everyone has what they need.
- Nonperishable food & supplies in case you stay home. Taking these with you if you evacuate can make you more comfortable and prepared wherever you end up.
- Learn about Hurricane terminology, what forecasts mean, and how to use the information to make choices.
- Finally, know what to do before a storm hits, how to stay safe during the storm, and what to do and not to do after the storm passes.
