How to Prepare for a Hurricane
The families who weather a hurricane best are the ones who prepared before the season started.
By Jonathan Carr
Partner & Forecaster
To prepare for a hurricane, find out if you are in an evacuation zone, understand your home’s risk from storm surge, wind, and flooding, and build an emergency kit before the season starts on June 1. If officials order an evacuation, leave immediately. Track the storm closely so you act on the forecast early rather than at the last minute.
Know your risk before the season
Hurricane preparation starts long before a storm is named. Find out whether you live in a hurricane evacuation zone, and understand how exposed your home is to the three big hazards: storm surge, wind, and inland flooding. That risk runs the length of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, from Houston, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana to Tampa and Miami, Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard.
Storm surge, the wall of ocean water a hurricane pushes ashore, is historically the leading cause of hurricane deaths, and it is why evacuation orders exist. If you are told to leave, leaving early is far safer than waiting.
It helps to appreciate the raw power involved: NOAA estimates the heat energy a mature hurricane releases in a single day equals roughly 200 times the world’s entire electricity generation. No house “rides out” a force like that. The plan is to be out of its path.4
Build your plan and kit
Have these ready before a storm threatens:
- Evacuation plan: Know your zone, your route, and where you will go, decided in advance.
- Emergency kit: Water, food, medications, flashlights, batteries, chargers, and important documents.
- Home protection: Storm shutters or plywood, clear gutters, and secure or bring in loose outdoor items.
- Communication plan: How your family will reach each other and where you will reunite.
Track the storm and act early
Hurricanes are forecast days out, but conditions deteriorate fast once the bands arrive. Watching the storm’s track and your local conditions lets you act on the forecast (secure the house, fuel up, and evacuate) while roads are clear and stores are stocked.
ZoneWatch gives you high-resolution radar and hyper-local alerts for your area, so you can follow the rain, wind, and flooding threat right down to your street.
Frequently asked questions
Jonathan Carr is a professional forecaster and the founder of Weather NJ, a forecasting partner of ZoneWatch. Since launching it in 2010, he has grown Weather NJ into one of the region’s most-followed independent weather outlets, with around 300,000 social followers and more than 12 million visitors to WeatherNJ.com. For over 16 years he has publicly forecast New Jersey’s hurricanes, nor’easters, snowstorms, and severe thunderstorms, building his reputation on major events like Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene, and the December 2009 blizzard. He pairs a computer-science degree from Stockton University with self-taught atmospheric physics and years of experience reading numerical weather models, and he’s known for translating complex forecast science into clear, actionable guidance.
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