As you may have noticed, we have been urging Southwest Floridians to prepare for this year’s hurricane season—which is just around the bend. We have mentioned ways to prepare yourself, your family, and your home for the potentially chaotic summer and autumn months before us, but today we are going to take a closer look at why these months are the prime time for a hurricane season.

For those who are just tuning in, the official date range of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season is June 1^st through November 30^th. We’re curious as to why these particular months are the official dates for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. In fact, how did this time of the year come to be what we know as the hurricane season?

It is odd that June 1^st through November 30^th are the calendar dates for this year’s hurricane season since hurricanes are, by nature, very unpredictable storms which can happen at any point during the year. So why is it that these particular months are so special? That’s because the majority of any given year’s tropical storm system activity occurs during this time  of the year and those months have since become the beginning and end points of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season to reflect that. But what, exactly, makes June through November the most favorable time for hurricanes? The short answer to this question is simply temperature!

In fact, the year’s summer and autumn months—June through November for 2013—often brings warmer ocean waters and thunderstorms. In addition to warm water and abundant thunderstorms, the summer and autumn also offer a lower vertical shear and greater wind circulation – two factors which help random storms turn into structured forces of nature that are capable of moving through the ocean in a cohesive system. Like making soup or a sandwich, these are the needed requirements to complete the meal and that is what makes June through November the prime time for this year’s hurricane season.

Fortunately, this allows us to prepare and put into place home hurricane protection to help us bear the brunt of any storm that comes to Southwest Florida. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of time – June 1st is just a couple of weeks away.

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As our countdown to June continues, we’d like to pass along as much information as we can in order to help you and your family prepare for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. We encourage our readers to continue to seek information in order to be as informed as possible because we may not be able to cover every nuance of preparation. Be sure to stay up-to-date in order to know exactly how to protect you family and home from this year’s (and every year’s) hurricane season.

In order to really prepare for this year’s hurricane season we will take it back to the basics. The fundamental thing to have in your home—and even in your car—is a disaster kit. Remember to pack for every member of your family’s specific needs because someone may need special medication or food. So please take into consideration that you may have to accommodate according to you and your family’s needs.

It is imperative to pack enough water for at least three to five days. There is no telling how long it will take emergency services to reach your area of the neighborhood so it is suggested to have at least one gallon per day—so at least three to five gallons of bottled water. For food, it is important to have non-perishable packages that do not require any can openers—unless you pack a non-electronic can opening tool. In addition, cooking tools, plates, and utensils are also important.

Don’t forget clothing, toiletries, and bedding. Bear in mind that the clothing you pack should reflect the season and rain gear never goes amiss during hurricane season. Also, in order to pack light choose a few blankets and pillows to hold you over until help can arrive. First-aid kits are imperative as well. 

Along with these very important necessities include a radio, some tools, and even a telephone. Keep in mind that these are just a few items that you should put in your emergency kit. It’s important to understand your family’s unique needs in order to fully prepare during the countdown for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. 

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The next six months are going to bring some very well-known visitors to our Southwest Florida beaches. Not entirely sure what we’re talking about? Every year from May 1st through October 31^st is the Loggerhead Sea Turtle nesting and hatchling season begins!

The Loggerhead Sea Turtle nesting and hatchling season is a very important part of our beaches’ ecosystems and as cohabitants; it is our responsibility to help out our turtle friends. Of course, there are many ordinances in place for that very reason, so don’t forget to brush up on the light and noise requirements for this nesting and hatching season.

Since bright artificial lights often confuse both female sea turtles and their hatchlings, strong lights are prohibited after 9pm through October 31^st.  Unfortunately, it can be hard to turn off lights from your home—lights which may breach the ordinance code—and a solution may be either too expensive or impossible depending on your situation.

Thankfully, we may have a solution to your problem and this solution also doubles as home hurricane protection! What better way to prepare for both the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season and the 2013 Loggerhead Sea Turtle nesting and hatchling season? That means that the strong impact windows that are protecting your home from this year’s nasty storm systems and potential hurricanes also meet the Turtle Code regulations.

Protecting your assets with regulation-approved home hurricane protection and obeying the ordinance to protect Loggerhead Sea Turtles is really a win-win situation. Not only will you have a peace of mind as far as the hurricane season is concerned but you also do not have to worry about accidentally disobeying regulations and potentially getting fined. Not to mention that you will do your part in helping a protected species further their future generations.

If you are looking for more information about impact windows then click here for a FREE estimate today.

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 Here it is, the last month before the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season starts. With the start date looming ahead, many people are kicking into high gear and preparing for anything this June—and beyond—may bring. As we’ve mentioned before, this season has an unusually high number of predicted storms and hurricanes and many communities are taking this prediction very, very seriously.

We encourage all Floridians to prepare for June in any way possible. Of course, there are many ways that you can do this and throughout our blog we have offered several suggestions and tips. Since it is best to be prepared, we ask that you take a stroll down memory lane and reread some of our suggestions (or even research on your own) as the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season closes in.

In addition to collecting essential items and outfitting your house with home hurricane protection, be sure to take a look at insuring your home. During the hurricane season, flood insurance would be a great idea to have. This sort of insurance would definitely help take a burden off of your shoulders if the worst happens and a hurricane or particularly brutal storm decides to pay a visit this June. Flood insurance is actually a very needed and practical thing to have because floods are, surprisingly, one of the most common (and expensive) natural disasters in our country.

A common tip for being organized is to make a list of things you need in order to be prepared for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. A good list will help keep headaches and disorganization away. Since that the countdown to June has begun, everyone has their eyes on both the weather and what the 2013 season may bring. Be sure to stay informed and be prepared! 

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This year, we have been encouraging Floridians to prepare their homes and businesses for the 2013 hurricane season which is right around the corner. In fact, the start of the hurricane season for 2013 is June 1, but a hurricane or tropical storm system may not wait on the “official start” of the season to show up (like last year).

Typically, it is suggested that you prepare year round for any potential wayward tropical storm system especially near the start of the season since that is when these unpredictable storms begin to appear. Granted, actual hurricanes often arrive later in the season, but hurricanes can never be guaranteed and predictions are sometimes wrong – which that means that hurricanes can be quite the (unwanted) surprise visitor.

As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, the 2013 hurricane season has been estimated to contain an above-average number of both tropical storm systems and hurricanes. That is some very bad news for Southwest Florida residents because more hurricanes and storm systems means more potential damage to your home. In the end, just one storm or hurricane can be enough to bring the house down.

Since the season is so close, you’ll notice that communities and community leaders are beginning to prepare in order to make the deadline. Some have workshops and others practice, practice, practice emergency action plans or hurricane drills. While your community is preparing for the beginning of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, you should too! And a good way to prepare for the any early or late systems is home hurricane protection.

Regardless of how you countdown the days to June 1^st, the important thing is to be prepared for anything the season can throw at you. And don’t worry—we’ll be with you every step of the way.

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Pop quiz time! What do CT scanners and a hurricane have in common?

The answer? Seismic waves!

Well, they sort of have seismic waves in common. When hurricanes make landfall, these violent storm systems actually produce tiny vibrations. Now, these vibrations along the Earth’s crust are actually picked out by seismometers which—in turn— can be used to follow the storm system’s path.

How does this correlate with our pop quiz from earlier? These seismic waves produced by large storm systems and hurricanes (systems such as Superstorm Sandy) can be used to distinguish structures inside of the Earth’s crust and possibly deeper than the crust depending on the strength of the seismic wave in question. All that means is simple this: seismic wave technique is in the same family of mathematics which is directly responsible for the operation of CT scan machines.

Of course, there is always some form of bad news: since these hurricane-spawned seismic waves are extremely long then only certain things can be mapped and that makes predictions difficult without all of the data. Methodology and information is constantly changing the game and the future may bring more stable predictions using seismic waves formed from hurricane landfall. Essentially, these waves will be used to help supplement research into storm trends and the future of hurricane prediction.

Hurricane prediction and tracking is always changing in new and innovative ways. In fact, using seismic waves to help supplement storm trend knowledge and prediction is just one of those innovative ways of preparing for future hurricane seasons.

Yet, while these sciences are still developing and changing, a tried-and-true method is to protect yourself with home hurricane protection. Hurricane season is almost here – are you prepared?

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We finally have a forecast for the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

The renown forecasting team at Colorado State University has predicted a whopping 18 tropical storms for this 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season. But that’s not all, because nine of those tropical storms are predicted to become hurricanes.

In order to put those numbers and predictions in context, you have to take into account the average yearly numbers. Those numbers break down to  about 12 tropical storms with seven hurricanes a year.  Now, those are numbers for an average hurricane season and that means that this forecasting team is predicting well above-average numbers.

Another fun fact: the Colorado team typically makes conservative predictions each year. If 18 tropical storm systems (and nine possible hurricanes) are “conservative” then we may have quite the eventful hurricane season. Preparing with home hurricane protection is no joke and preparing now is definitely the key to seeing the end of this hurricane seasons with as minimal damage as possible.

In fact, insurance companies these forecasts to prepare for a future hurricane season, so why shouldn’t you?

On June 3^rd, this same forecasting team will update their seasonal forecast and new information may come to light, so stay up-to-date on any news regarding the forecast for the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

In addition to the Colorado team, the Weather Channel also made its prediction and their forecast is very similar to the aforementioned one with 16 tropical storm systems and nine hurricanes. The Weather Channel even goes another step and forecasts that five of these nine hurricanes will become major storms.

Weather prediction may not be as clear as looking into a crystal ball, but when two trustworthy names in the hurricane forecasting field predict similar storms and hurricane numbers then it wouldn’t go amiss to listen and prepare. 

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After a dangerous storm system, hurricane, or other disaster it is easy to point fingers at who and what went wrong. However, in the heat of the moment no one is looking to see if someone is doing something wrong or not following protocol. So, it is when the dust settles that evacuation plans, hurricane warnings, or the other aspects of an emergency are brought into question. With bad weather, there is always the potential for a learning situation and for something good to come of it.

Superstorm Sandy, the latest storm to sweep the Northeastern coast of the United States, has often been used as a tool for learning and preparing for any future storms of Sandy’s caliber or greater – and this includes tracking hurricanes and sending out notifications.

One recent criticism is on the actual storm warnings themselves. But what does this have to do with Superstorm Sandy? Well, since we know Sandy as “Superstorm” Sandy and not “Hurricane” Sandy– that in itself should be a little hint towards the problem. Once Sandy merged with the two present cold-weather systems, the superstorm was no longer considered a hurricane and that meant problems for everyone.

Because of Superstorm Sandy’s new classification forecasters actually stopped sending important “hurricane” warnings and that means that important advisories were not reaching the people they needed to. Some experts even say that if those normal hurricane advisories and warnings were sent out as usual then the loss from Superstorm Sandy could have been less.

However, there is a positive side of things: bringing this information to the forefront will cause a change for the better in storm warnings because no one wants a repeat of what happened during Superstorm Sandy last year.  

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The 2013 hurricane season will be upon us in two months, and that means that now is the time to prepare for this year’s season. As we know, it is always best to be prepared ahead of time. Here is a short checklist of things you should considering doing before this year’s hurricane season.

• Add home hurricane protection to your home. The best way to prepare for a hurricane is to preemptively prepare your home for any future storm systems. If you invest in home hurricane protection now then it eliminates rushing around and trying to secure your home with a dangerous hurricane heading toward southwest Florida.

• Plan an evacuation in case something terrible happens to your home and you’re unable to stay there. If your home floods or is completely ravished by a hurricane then create an evacuation plan detailing a meet-up location so you can ensure your family’s safety.

• Get to know your neighbors because they may be the ones to reach you before an emergency crew. Regardless if you are a new neighbor or an established member of the community, it is a great idea to get to know your neighbors in case you need them (or they need you) during a hurricane.

• Educate your family about hurricanes, disasters, and other emergencies. This is a good idea because your family will be informed during an emergency! That means they will know how to respond and protect themselves during a disaster. In addition, don’t forget to prepare your family for any future disasters or hurricanes by stocking up on emergency supplies such as bottled water and non-perishable food items.

This is just a basic list for you to consider before the 2013 hurricane season. In fact, more research and preparation is always a good thing. You can never be too ready for the threat of a  hurricane. 

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Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy have created new procedures along with teaching us how to adapt in order to survive against the devastating force of such brutal and unforgiving storm systems. We could even go as far as to say that both Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy have changed the face of home and business construction and forced us to revolutionize the way dwellings and businesses are built in order to weather extreme storm systems and the destructive forces they bring with them – especially in southwest Florida.

Unfortunately, because of these particular storm systems and others too, builders have learned the hard way that homes are not being built efficiently enough because these homes are either washed away from their slabs or crumbled into their foundations. That’s not all— it was also discovered that some houses had important aspects (such as generators) hidden on the ground floor or basement, and as we all know the ground floor or basement are two of the most dangerous places to be in a flood.

In order to improve buildings for future hurricanes and lesser storm systems, many experts suggest things such as having flood-resistant materials between the ground and the first floor of the house or designing the walls of a home to break away in case of a vicious flood.

Another possible way to lessen the damage brought by hurricanes and other storm systems is to build houses on risers correctly. In fact, these experts suggest either constructing openings between risers so that water can pass through or if this is impossible then the solution would be to build the house in the direction of the potential waves.

Finally, keeping wind and water out of your home is a priority – which is where home hurricane protection comes in, especially during a hurricane.

These are simply suggestions for homes being built or rebuilt now. However, it is important to protect yourself now instead of having to start from the ground up so consider outfitting your house with home hurricane protection. Are you curious about what is right for your style of home? Then click here for a FREE estimate! 

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