Storms don’t wait for hurricane season to start. Here’s what you can do to prepare before you have to.
Hurricane season begins, officially, on June 1. Unofficially, we know that storms don’t always wait for the date. Ana, which formed May 22 last year, marked the seventh year in a row that the Atlantic hurricane season started before the official start of the season. The 2021 hurricane season was the third most active on record and top hurricane forecasters said we can expect another above-normal season again in 2022. The National Hurricane Center begins issuing regular tropical weather outlooks on May 15. So even if the calendar has time to spare, you might want to start your hurricane prep a little early. Or at least prepare to prepare. The best time to get ready is before you need to. Prepping for a storm is much easier and less nerve-wracking while the sky is still blue. Get ready for hurricanes: Since 2017, a ludicrous 101 named storms have formed. Expect more this hurricane season Increased hurricane activity: As hurricane season approaches, experts say to beware of more rapidly intensifying storms And it begins: National Hurricane Center tracking first tropical wave of 2022, weeks before season starts There’s no need to start boarding up your windows now. But you might want to start watching for good prices on plywood or sales on storm shutters and buy them early, rather than waiting until everyone else is frantically buying out Home Depot. If you’ve got room in the garage or storage area, get your plywood early, leisurely cut it to size for your windows and sliding doors, and stash it for when you might need it. Before the storm: Shutters and window coverings Walk around your yard and look for areas that will be a problem when the wind picks up. Your patio furniture can stay for now, but go ahead and trim your trees and shrubs, get rid of any yard debris and remove dead trees and branches. If you need help with that, it’ll be much easier (and possibly cheaper) to do it now than when there’s a waiting list. Clean out your gutters. Is your house leaking anywhere? How’s your weatherstripping? Now’s the time to deal with that, while things are dry. If your house is made of wood, check its structural connections. The roof, walls, floor and foundations must be joined by metal anchors. If you can’t use anchors, then install straps, tensioning cables or additional clips to securely fasten your roof to the frame.
