Be Prepared for Hurricane Season!

Every year, millions of Americans need to be prepared for hurricane season, which is always arrives "before you know it."

June 1st heralds the beginning of Hurricane Season. Most Floridians think they are prepared, either with nice storm shutters, or plywood for their window protection... and then there's food. Or lack thereof.

The peak occurs September 10th, but don't be fooled. As the season literally cools down, there is far more activity in October than, say, early June, or July.

Preparation is Key...

It is so sad to see my dad's workshop completely demolished by high winds. After the storm, Dad did admit that if he'd had time to install the roll-up doors, the workshop would have had a better chance of surviving the wind gusts.

With two open doorways, the wind rushed in through the building and lifted off the roof. We thought that two doorways would have been OK and act as a passageway for the wind. Boy, were we wrong.

We spent days clearing up. It was amazing how both lawnmowers survived, as did the hidden old Mercedes!

It was a very humbling experience and one I will never forget.

You'd Better Be Prepared for Hurricane Season!

Driving around the neighborhood and hearing noisy gasoline-powered generators running, you know a hurricane has been through and power's not back on . But even having one light (and keeping your refrigerator on) is worth the noise.

Be Hurricane-Ready with Emergency Food and Supplies

Top of the list, though, for being hurricane-ready is emergency food and supplies. Get your NOAA radio, medical supplies, batteries, and maps of local shelters and emergency phone numbers ready now—so you won't be rushing around later.

WATER: Start buying an extra gallon or two of water each week when you shop. This way, the expense won't be 'all at once' when the hurricane strikes and you'll be hurricane-ready! Plus, it's easier to carry one (or two) water bottles at a time and you won't feel and look like a hoarder. :-)

FOOD: Get cracking and get some fresh produce dehydrated now.

Follow my six steps and store it safely so you'll be prepared with plenty of dehydrated food on hand. Our dehydrated food is vacuum-sealed in air-tight and water-tight bags and keeps out rain water too!

We had our 'wake-up' call in 2004 after I'd been in Florida 24 years without seeing any hurricanes personally. We do not take the hurricane season lightly anymore.

Kudos to Lowe's

Well, we weren't really hurricane-ready. It doesn't seem all that long ago that Dad and I popped down to Lowe's of Vero Beach, Florida, in his truck, and we were lining up... along with 30 or so other like-minded people. All of whom had flatbeds in tow, with sheets of plywood standing on edge.

It was a feeling of camaraderie. No one was panicking, no pushing and shoving to get to the front of the line.

We were all there for the same reason—to protect our homes and families and to be prepared for Hurricane Frances (and Jeanne, as it turned out, a few weeks later).

Check out our photos of what remained after the twin hurricanes.

Kudos definitely go to Lowe's for being so organized—and this was at 7 a.m. in the morning!

UPDATES:

Added September 12, 2013:

I'd like to add a few words here as it's been almost a year now since Hurricane Sandy—the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 season and won't soon be forgotten either—and my heart goes out to the survivors who are no doubt still trying to get their lives back to some semblance of normalcy.

Today the "weather out the window" is thundery and pouring down with rain—ah well, that's what you get for living in the (almost) tropics...

I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that this year we'll be blessed with no hurricane damage at all to the beautiful shorelines of the United States of America.

Added May 22, 2018:

Another update: We moved house and had to rent for a short while—but it was our first experience with real metal shutters! What an absolute JOY to put up compared to the horrible sheets of plywood.

I put up the shutters for the whole rental house in about an hour - on my own - compared to a six-hour plywood slog with help from hubby.

Added late September, 2019:

Another update: We moved house again from the rental and the owners had left us their metal shutters (as you do). What an easy job to put up metal shutters. I wish I had a few panels that were 'see-through' though. I think those kinds of panels are probably made of fiberglass. I'll look into that!

Added June, 2022:

Another update and no shocker: We moved house again (been in our latest home for over a year now) and we installed fancy 'Bahama-style' shutters.

Not only are they nice to look at, they function well, and are easy to close when needed. No more lugging around metal shutters.

One caveat: they do tend to diminish natural light inside the house (no surprise) as they're 'installed' for year-round, no-tote hurricane protection.

Added October, 2024:

Yet another disastrous hit, hurricane wise to folks in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Having them suffer through Helene and then have Milton add to the injury, it really does open your eyes to the fact we need to be better prepared.

Like I've said many times, when we're prepared, we're better able to assist our neighbors.

The Time is Now to Be Prepared...

Thanks for visiting "Be prepared for hurricane season." I know we all do the best we can.

The time is now to get those plastic water bottles billed (I store mine in my Florida room so if they leak, the water won't be inside the main part of the home) and get some food stashed away.

Don't forget to get your free "Six Simple Steps" eBook where I share how to dehydrate food safely!