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Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Hurricane Preparedness Week, day 7: What you should know to take action before a storm
May 10 is final day of Hurricane Preparedness Week and focuses on taking action today. The 2025 hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. The National Hurricane Center will begin issuing daily tropical outlooks later this week, on May 15, and AccuWeather issued its first advisory warning a tropical storm has a low chance of developing later this month. ➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location To raise awareness about the dangers posed by hurricanes and tropical storms and encourage people to prepare early for storms, the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service established May 4-10 as Hurricane Preparedness Week. The week covered various topics each day, providing valuable information for those new to hurricanes and good reminders to seasoned Florida residents. Early predictions are for a "volatile hurricane" season in 2025, with above-normal activity. Colorado State University forecasters ranked Florida No. 1 among all 50 states when it comes to the probability of a named storm coming within 50 miles, at 92%. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. The National Hurricane Center will begin issuing tropical outlooks on May 15, highlighting any tropical disturbances showing potential for development. Hurricane Preparedness Week 2025 is scheduled for May 4-10, focusing on a different topic each day. Here's the lineup: May 4: Know your risk: Wind and water May 5: Prepare before hurricane season Tuesday, May 6: Understand forecast information May 7: Get moving when a storm threatens May 8: Stay protected during storms May 9: Use caution after storms Saturday, May 10: Take action today The topic on the final day of Hurricane Preparedness Week 2025 is "Take Action Now." NOAA rounded up the week by reminding residents they should: Determine your risk from water and wind. Begin preparing now, before a storm. Learn how to understand hurricane forecasts and alerts. Learn what to do before, during and after a storm. Here's our roundup of some of the key things to know from the week. ➤ New to hurricanes? Everything to know about NOAA tips from Hurricane Preparedness Week Determine now if you live in a storm surge evacuation zone. Here's how to find your zone: Go to the Florida Department of Emergency Management's Know Your Zone website In the top left corner, enter your address In the left column you'll see your evacuation zone Typically, Zone A is the most vulnerable and most likely to be evacuated first. Zone F is most likely to be evacuated last. If you live in a flood-prone area, you're especially vulnerable to hurricane impacts. However, remember that even it you don't live in a flood-prone area, you're not necessarily safe since extreme rain can flood even those areas. Here's how to find out now the flood risk for your area so you can plan accordingly. Go to FEMA's Flood Risk website, Scroll down and enter your zip code and click on Discover Your Risk Look at the map to see if your risk is low, moderate or high You can also enter your address for a more precise view of your risk You can also check NOAA's Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper at Zoom in on the map to see a coastal flood hazard composite showing zones 1 to 11. Develop an evacuation plan, get your home and yard ready now, check your insurance policy, make sure you have shutters, and start assembling disaster supplies while shelves are fully stocked. Here are a few sites offering disaster supply checklists: AccuWeather Federal Alliance for Safe Homes FEMA NWS Red Cross Generally, "a watch means impacts are possible; a warning means impacts are expected or happening," NOAA said. "Different hazards and alerts require different responses." Here's what the various watches and warnings associated with tropical cyclones from the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service mean and what you should do when each is issued. "Rely on official forecasts and well-established media partners," NOAA said. The USA Today Network-Florida has been a trusted source for tropical news, with daily stories on the latest conditions in the tropics beginning May 15. When a storm looks as if it may be heading our way, coverage ramps up even more to provide you with everything you need to know in your area to make important decisions for you and your family. We pull together information not only from NOAA and the National Hurricane Center, but also our partners with USA Today Network and local Florida sites. We also gather Florida-specific information from AccuWeather experts and Dr. Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist with WeatherTiger, for what Florida residents need to know. We also encourage you to sign up to receive text alerts specific to your area both before and after a storm hits. We also have people available to answer storm-related questions you may have. NOAA also recommended residents have the Wireless Emergency Alerts enabled on their phones to receive warnings. ➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location On an iPhone, go to: Settings Notifications Government Alerts (on the bottom of the screen) Turn on the desired alert On an Android, go to: Settings Notifications Wireless emergency alerts (which may be under advanced settings or safety and emergency) Turn on the desired alert When the National Hurricane Center posts its map predicting where a storm will go, there's a tendency to focus on that cone. However, cone tells you only where the center of the storm is projected to be at specific intervals. What it does not do is tell you where the impacts from the storm could be felt. "Impacts can be felt far from the storm's center, even well inland and outside the forecast cone," NOAA said. The forecast cone means "the storm's center will probably travel somewhere within the cone's boundaries. "Historically, the storm's center has remained within the forecasted cone roughly two-thirds of the time." Important reminder: "The cone does NOT represent the size of the storm in any way," NOAA emphasized. The National Hurricane Center will release its predictions for the 2025 hurricane season later this month. Early forecasts released so far predict: : Predicting 2025 could be a year with "volatile hurricanes" and warns storms could rapidly intensify shortly before making landfall. Named storms: 13 to 18 Hurricanes: 7-10 Major hurricanes: 3-5 Direct U.S. impacts: 3-6 Colorado State University: Season will be above normal. Florida ranked No. 1 when it came to the probability of a named storm coming within 50 miles, at 92%. 17 named storms 9 hurricanes 4 major hurricanes Dr. Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist with WeatherTiger, said 2025 has a "50-50 shot of landing in the ranges of": 16-21 tropical storms 7-9 hurricanes 3-4 major hurricanes Here are the names for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, along with how to pronounce them: Andrea: AN-dree-uh Barry: BAIR-ree Chantal: shahn-TAHL Dexter: DEHK-ster Erin: AIR-rin Fernand: fair-NAHN Gabrielle: ga-bree-ELL Humberto: oom-BAIR-toh Imelda: ee-MEHL-dah Jerry: JEHR-ee Karen: KAIR-ren Lorenzo: loh-REN-zoh Melissa: meh-LIH-suh Nestor: NES-tor Olga: OAL-guh Pablo: PAHB-lo Rebekah: reh-BEH-kuh Sebastien: se-BAS-tee-en Tanya: TAHN-yuh Van: van Wendy: WEN-dee We will continue to update our tropical weather coverage as conditions warrant and daily beginning May 15. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And subscribe here. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Hurricane Preparedness Week, day 7: Take action now, before storm
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Hurricane Preparedness Week, day 6: Use caution after storm has passed
May 9 is day six of Hurricane Preparedness Week and focuses on using caution after a storm hits. The 2025 hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. The National Hurricane Center will begin issuing daily tropical outlooks on May 15. ➤ Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location To raise awareness about the dangers posed by hurricanes and tropical storms and encourage people to prepare early for storms, the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service have established May 4-10 as Hurricane Preparedness Week. The week covers various topics each day, providing valuable information for those new to hurricanes and good reminders to seasoned Florida residents. Early predictions are for a "volatile hurricane" season in 2025, with above-normal activity. Colorado State University forecasters ranked Florida No. 1 among all 50 states when it comes to the probability of a named storm coming within 50 miles, at 92%. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. The National Hurricane Center will begin issuing tropical outlooks on May 15, highlighting any tropical disturbances showing potential for development. Hurricane Preparedness Week 2025 is scheduled for May 4-10, focusing on a different topic each day. Here's the lineup: May 4: Know your risk: Wind and water May 5: Prepare before hurricane season Tuesday, May 6: Understand forecast information May 7: Get moving when a storm threatens May 8: Stay protected during stormsMay 10: Take action today Just because a storm has passed does not mean the time has come to let your guard down, NOAA warned. "Nearly half of hurricane fatalities occur after the storm." Follow these five tips to stay safe: If you evacuated, only return home only when told to do so Remain vigilant, as hazards remain Clean up safely: don't push yourself, and check on neighbors Practice portable generator safety Remember, help and communications may not be readily available Let's go into each one. "Return home ONLY when officials say it is safe. Check with local officials both where you're staying and back home before you travel," NOAA said. Many areas may not be accessible due to damage or flood waters. There may be no power. Stores may not be open or, if they are, shelves may be bare until supplies are able to be sent in. NOAA offered these tips to stay safe even after the storm has passed by: Be careful near damaged buildings. Walk carefully around the outside of your home to check for loose power lines, gas leaks, and structural damage, including dangerous debris such as nails or glass. Leave your home if there's shifting or unusual noises. If you smell gas, get outdoors immediately and call 911. Avoid electric shock by staying far away from downed power lines. Stay alert: they may be on the ground, hidden in water, or dangling overhead. Flooded roads are very dangerous. It can be difficult to judge how deep or swift the water is moving — just 12 inches of water can float a car. Never drive through flooded roads, even if you are seeking supplies or trying to check on someone. Floods can also compromise bridges and roads. Avoid flooded river areas, as they can continue to rise long after a storm passes. Don't walk in floodwaters. They can contain harmful bacteria, chemicals, sharp objects, and dangerous animals. Now is not the time to push yourself. "Straining the body can lead to heart attacks, heat strokes, and other serious issues. Perform cleanups slowly, taking lots of breaks," NOAA said. "Stay hydrated, wear light, loose-fitting clothing, and clean up during cooler hours if possible. If your area is under a heat advisory, use extreme caution and consider cleaning up when the heat has subsided. "Make sure to check on your elderly neighbors and other vulnerable people in your community." Be very careful with portable generators. "Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the leading causes of death in areas dealing with power outages." Follow these guidelines: Never use a generator inside your home or garage, even if doors and windows are open. Only use generators outside, more than 20 feet away from your home, doors, and windows. "After a hurricane, emergency responders may be overwhelmed. Be aware that it could take hours or days for them to reach your area. "Communication systems may be impacted, and making phone or video calls might be difficult due to network congestion. If possible, communicate via text, email, or social media," NOAA said. The National Hurricane Center will release its predictions for the 2025 hurricane season later this month. Early forecasts released so far predict: : Predicting 2025 could be a year with "volatile hurricanes" and warns storms could rapidly intensify shortly before making landfall. Named storms: 13 to 18 Hurricanes: 7-10 Major hurricanes: 3-5 Direct U.S. impacts: 3-6 Colorado State University: Season will be above normal. Florida ranked No. 1 when it came to the probability of a named storm coming within 50 miles, at 92%. 17 named storms 9 hurricanes 4 major hurricanes Dr. Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist with WeatherTiger, said 2025 has a "50-50 shot of landing in the ranges of": 16-21 tropical storms 7-9 hurricanes 3-4 major hurricanes Here are the names for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, along with how to pronounce them: Andrea: AN-dree-uh Barry: BAIR-ree Chantal: shahn-TAHL Dexter: DEHK-ster Erin: AIR-rin Fernand: fair-NAHN Gabrielle: ga-bree-ELL Humberto: oom-BAIR-toh Imelda: ee-MEHL-dah Jerry: JEHR-ee Karen: KAIR-ren Lorenzo: loh-REN-zoh Melissa: meh-LIH-suh Nestor: NES-tor Olga: OAL-guh Pablo: PAHB-lo Rebekah: reh-BEH-kuh Sebastien: se-BAS-tee-en Tanya: TAHN-yuh Van: van Wendy: WEN-dee We will continue to update our tropical weather coverage as conditions warrant and daily beginning May 15. Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And subscribe here. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Hurricane preparedness week 2025: Use caution after storm hits
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Pooler Mayor, City Manager discuss takeaways from last hurricane season, plans for future
Chatham Emergency Services Director Dennis Jones said they are expecting an above-average hurricane season for Coastal Georgia this year, and really all of the East Coast, as has been the case for the last several years. At this point, 'above average' is really becoming the norm, he said. In preparation for that, the City of Pooler held a hurricane preparation workshop early last week, with a presentation from Jones. Pooler Mayor Karen Williams said that they wanted people to have access to those resources early on, and to know they were trying to get that information out there as the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane season approaches starting June 1. Last hurricane season brought 18 named storms, with 11 becoming hurricanes and five of those becoming major hurricanes. The Savannah-area experienced flooding, hurricane-force winds toppling trees and no power in back-to-back Tropical Storms Debby and Helene, and rounding out the season with high winds from Hurricane Milton. Pooler is located about 30 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean, with no major creeks or rivers nearby, but drainage problems have plagued some of the residents for as long as they can remember. Barrington Estates off Quacco Road in Pooler was just one of the many neighborhoods in the area left with detrimental flooding. Sara Hartley said in an interview at the time than the flooding they experienced during Tropical Storm Debby seemed worse than Hurricane Matthew in 2016. She believed they experienced 11 inches of rain in a day-and-a-half. The water was almost up to their knees. "Our lot specifically backs up to one of the branches of the canal system that then links into a branch of the system along 95, and flows out, I believe, into the Ogeechee," Hartley said in an interview in August. "So, part of it is because it's all linked to that, and eventually it just gets inundated with all the stormwater runoff and can't go anywhere fast enough. They did do work to improve our drainage after Matthew, but we haven't had any significant flooding until now." Pooler City Manager Heath Lloyd, who was hired in August, just days after Tropical Storm Debby dissipated, said one of the first things he heard coming into the city was the localized flooding residents were experiencing in Kelly Drive and Barrington Estates. Pooler has a collection of detention ponds where water is held and slowly released into the canals. In November, the city initiated a contract with Coleman Engineering to do surveys to figure out how to improve the drainage in Kelly Drive. A few weeks ago, they received the results and are now trying to move forward with a three-phase project. The first phase will be to restore the drainage pattern on Kelly Drive, and Lloyd said the city will try to move forward with that project sometime in the second quarter of the year, but probably not before the beginning of hurricane season. The other project with Barrington Estates, which is off the Hardin Canal, involves working with the developer to create 'essentially a nine acre lake.' Lloyd said that project is moving slower than they wanted it to, but the wheels are turning. This project would not only help those in Barrington Estates, but everyone who is impacted by the December, Pooler City Council approved the widening of the Piper Makers Canal from Pooler Parkway to I-95, a $1.6 million project, which will be finished up right before hurricane season starts, to help hold more water. Lloyd mentioned that the city had a bit of a setback in developing a city-wide stormwater master plan, like Savannah, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced an end to its Building Infrastructure and Communities (GRANT) program. Pooler would have received half a million dollars to look at drainage improvements needed for large waterways and local flooding. Another thing that could help with any local flooding would be for Homeowner Associations to clean out their detention ponds, which Williams said many associations did not know they were responsible for. The city has begun having monthly meetings with Pooler HOA's to explain that they may not be holding the water that they should be and are required to hold. 'We made it perfectly clear to them that they are responsible for getting that sludge cleaned out periodically,' Williams said. More: For one Pooler neighborhood, the waters of Tropical Storm Debby have yet to recede More: Savannah's location made it more susceptible to Helene's hurricane-force winds Williams said the biggest takeaway from last hurricane season is that they always have to be prepared, because you never know what direction the storms are coming. 'We did an excellent job as a city and staff to prepare,' Williams said. 'We were the lead on a lot of things, like being the first to get sandbags, and those are the types of things we'll continue to do.' Lloyd said the biggest takeaway for him, was how the city responded in the aftermath of a storm event. In accordance with that, two things expected to come up in council will be the recommendation of a contract for Pooler to have its own debris management and an emergency response contractor. In the past, Pooler piggybacked off the county's debris management contract. 'Piggybacking doesn't give you that priority level of service though, so we're going to move forward, hopefully by June,' Lloyd said. '[The emergency response contractors] have what they call a 72-hour window where you can have a contractor clear your roadways and allow you to begin to restore your city. So what I'm looking at is having multiple options to respond to storms and restore our city.' Williams emphasized that the city is being proactive to try and handle any issues that may arise. 'I think it's important for the residents to understand that we're not going to be able to solve it all overnight, but we are going to systematically, you know, try to improve drainage for the entire city,' Lloyd said. Jones' presentation on how residents can personally prepare for hurricane season can be found on the Pooler website. He encouraged residents to start defining an emergency plan for their families and putting together an emergency kit. Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for the Savannah Morning News, covering the municipalities, and community and cultural programs. You can reach her at DAmbus@ This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Pooler Mayor, City Manager discuss hurricane preparation
