Hurricane Preparedness Week – Day 1: Determine Your Risk

Be ready for hurricane season. Over the week ahead, you can determine your personal hurricane risk, find out if you live in a hurricane evacuation zone, and review/update insurance policies. You can also make a list of items to replenish hurricane emergency supplies and start thinking about how you will prepare your home for the coming hurricane season. If you live in hurricane-prone areas, you are encouraged to complete these simple preparations before hurricane season begins on June 1. Keep in mind, you may need to adjust any preparedness actions based on the latest health and safety guidelines from the CDC and your local officials. Today’s topic is about determining your risks.

Find out today what types of wind and water hazards could happen where you live, and then start preparing how to handle them. Hurricanes are not just a coastal problem. Their impacts can be felt hundreds of miles inland, and significant impacts can occur without it being a major hurricane.

Coastal Risks:
• Storm Surge
• Strong Winds
• Rip Currents
• Tornadoes

Inland Risks:
• Strong Winds
• Tornadoes
• Inland Flooding

Also knowing what the hurricane return period is will greatly help you determine your risk.

Estimated return period in years for hurricanes passing
within 50 nautical miles of various locations on the U.S. Coast.

Estimated return period in years for major hurricanes passing
within 50 nautical miles of various locations on the U.S. Coast.

Hurricane return periods are the frequency at which a certain intensity of hurricane can be expected within a given distance of a given location (for the below images 50 nm or 58 statute miles). In simpler terms, a return period of 20 years for a major hurricane means that on average during the previous 100 years, a Category 3 or greater hurricane passed within 50 nm (58 miles) of that location about five times. We would then expect, on average, an additional five Category 3 or greater hurricanes within that radius over the next 100 years.

More information on return periods can be found from NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC 38 (PDF) on the NHC Risk Analysis Program (HURISK).

The Hurricane Preparedness Week topic for Monday will be: Develop an Evacuation Plan.

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Met 101/Weather History, Severe Weather, Tropical