North Carolina Prepares for Hurricane Season

In September of 1996 Hurricane Fran made her presence known in central North Carolina with a vengeance. Since then, Isabelle, Floyd and others have made their marks as well, but it will always be Fran that I remember most vividly. Our house being nearly destroyed might have something to do with it.

Each year, forecasters make their predictions and the collective southeast braces themselves for the worst. In a good year, we breathe a sigh of relief when the fates spare us, and in other years, Storms like Katrina and Fran and Isabelle and Floyd break our hearts. Yet we persevere, rebuild, buy more insurance and thank God for the most important things and mourn losses, sometimes so immeasurable, recovery seems impossible.

Forecasting exactly where these storms will hit land and when is at best an imprecise science. Yes, Meteorologists can see them coming, and can make a storm track, usually quite accurate, but just as tornado's have a mind of their own, hurricanes often follow suit. Storms we are certain will hit us dead on, suddenly veer off in another direction, and ones we thought too far off to bother with make a sudden beeline for our homes and businesses.

This year, NOAA is predicting 13-17 named storms. 7-10 of which to become hurricanes and 3-5 of those named storms to be major hurricanes. All it takes though is one major hurricane to devastate the region in its path. Even a "minor" level 1 storm can cause severe flooding and wind damage.

Living in North Carolina, approximately two hours from the coast, I am blessed to normally only receive rain and minor wind damage, And certain areas are known to flood. The biggest hazard in my immediate areas is the thunderstorms and tornado's that spin off from the hurricanes, and are not nearly as easy to predict as the actual hurricanes themselves. Storms have a way of surprising us, though, and we have received our fair share of major storms come through in this area, those are often the ones that spare the coast, coincidentally.

So what can you do to prepare yourself and your family when a storm is headed for you?