Hazard · Atlantic & Gulf coasts
Hurricanes are the rare hazard that announces itself five days out. The job isn't reacting. The job is using the warning. Here is what to do with it, in plain order.
What this hazard looks like
Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, peaking between mid-August and mid-October. A typical season produces about 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher) under the 1991–2020 climate normals.
Highest landfall frequency in the country. Florida averages one direct hit every two years. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas each see multiple landfalls per decade.
Long warning windows. The damage is often inland flooding more than wind, which catches households outside the official evacuation zones unprepared.
Less frequent, less prepared. Sandy in 2012 and Ida's remnants in 2021 are the recent benchmarks. Storm surge in New York and New Jersey is a serious threat under-recognized by long-time residents.
How the warning reaches you: the National Hurricane Center issues a 5-day forecast cone showing the probable storm track. The cone narrows as the storm approaches. Most households get their first formal alert (a watch or warning) between 36 and 72 hours before landfall.
The two alerts that matter
More than half the people in the path of a hurricane misread the difference. Knowing it in advance keeps you ahead of the surge of last-minute traffic, fuel lines, and empty store shelves.
01
Conditions are possible within 48 hours.
Your job at watch:
02
Conditions are expected within 36 hours.
Your job at warning:
A note on tropical storms. Tropical Storm Watch and Tropical Storm Warning operate on the same 48-hour and 36-hour timelines for sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph. Storms below hurricane strength still produce inland flooding, tornadoes, and extended power outages. Treat them with the same discipline.
The first real decision
Two rules cover most households. The third question only matters if neither rule applies.
Rule one
Evacuation zones are drawn around storm surge, which historically causes 40 to 50 percent of all hurricane deaths. The zone exists because the ground you're standing on will be underwater. No structure prevents that.
Rule two
National Weather Service guidance is unambiguous. Manufactured housing cannot be made safe at hurricane wind speeds, regardless of tie-downs or anchors. This applies to every hurricane category, including Category 1.
For everyone else, three questions help. Answering yes to any one usually means leaving.
Know yours before June 1
Most coastal states use letter-based evacuation zones (A through E or A through F), with A being the most vulnerable to surge and ordered out first. You can find yours by address through your state's emergency management website. Look it up in the off-season, write it on the household plan, and don't rely on memory the day of.
Identify a primary inland route and one backup. Interstate corridors flood, jam, or close. A secondary route on US or state highways is often slower in normal traffic but faster when the primary fails.
Pick a specific town 50 to 100 miles inland. A named hotel, a relative's address, a campground, a known shelter. "Somewhere northbound" is how families end up sleeping in cars at full rest stops.
Three things people forget
Hardening the house
Both work. The choice comes down to cost, deployment time, and storage. Neither is a substitute for evacuation if you're in the surge zone, but for inland wind protection, the right window covering buys you a structurally intact house.
$20–$45 per square foot installed
Worth the investment if you live in an active hurricane zone and expect more than one storm preparation per decade.
$1.50–$2 per square foot, materials only
Reasonable for the occasional inland threat. Frustrating if you face a storm threat every other year.
The overlooked retrofit
The garage door is the most common point of structural failure in a residential hurricane. Once it goes, internal pressure lifts the roof. A garage door bracing kit costs $150 to $300 and is the single most useful structural upgrade most coastal homes can make. Add it before you spend a dollar on a generator.
Power when the grid is gone
The rule
Never run a generator indoors, in a garage (open or closed), or within 20 feet of any window, door, or vent. Carbon monoxide is the leading cause of post-storm fatalities other than the storm itself.
A 5,000-watt portable generator burns about 0.75 gallons per hour at half load. That's roughly 9 gallons for 12 hours of intermittent use.
Plan for three to seven days of post-storm outage, used intermittently to keep the refrigerator cold and devices charged. A realistic household stockpile is 25 to 35 gallons.
Gasoline degrades in 3 to 6 months untreated. With a stabilizer (PRI-G or Sta-Bil), it remains usable for 12 to 24 months. Rotate annually into your daily-driver vehicle.
Store outside the home in approved metal or HDPE cans, in shade, away from ignition sources. Check your local fire code; most jurisdictions cap residential storage at 25 gallons.
For households not ready to commit to a generator, a 1,000 to 2,000 Wh portable power station with a solar panel covers the essentials (lights, phone, CPAP, a small fan) without the fuel or CO question. See the First 2 Weeks tier for the comparison.
What happens when
The forecast cone gives you a working timeline. Use it. Each phase has a job that is much harder to complete in the phase that follows.
The first 72 hours after
Mold begins to colonize wet drywall, carpet, and insulation within 24 to 48 hours of saturation. The first 72 hours after a storm decide how much of your home is recoverable. The work is unglamorous and starts before the lights come back on.
01
Smell for gas at every point of entry. Stay clear of downed lines. Don't use the tap until your utility issues an all-clear; boil water in the interim. Avoid candles for light if you smell gas anywhere.
02
Photograph and video every room and the exterior before moving anything. Insurance claims that go badly are usually documentation problems, not coverage problems.
03
Pump out standing water. Pull up wet carpet and pad (they don't come back). Cut wet drywall 12 to 18 inches above the high-water line. Run fans and dehumidifiers around the clock once power returns.
04
Discard refrigerated food after 4 hours without power. A freezer with the door kept closed holds food safely for about 48 hours. When in doubt, throw it out. Boil tap water until your utility clears it.
05
File the homeowner claim within days, not weeks. If you're in a federally declared disaster area, register at DisasterAssistance.gov for FEMA Individual Assistance. Keep receipts for everything, including hotels and meals.
06
If the meter or weatherhead pulled away from the house, the utility cannot legally restore power until an electrician repairs and a county inspector approves. Call both early; backlogs grow by the hour.
A note on flood insurance
Standard homeowner policies do not cover flooding. National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies carry a 30-day waiting period before coverage begins. You cannot buy flood insurance after a named storm enters the forecast cone. Check your policy in May, not in August.
Where to find your specifics
Bookmark these before the season starts. State emergency management sites are where you find your specific evacuation zone, designated shelters, and county-level contraflow plans.
National
Official forecasts, 5-day cones, advisories. nhc.noaa.gov
National
All-hazards alerts for your county. weather.gov/nwr
Florida
Florida Division of Emergency Management. Look up your evacuation zone by address.
Texas
Coastal evacuation zones, contraflow plans, shelter locations. tdem.texas.gov
Louisiana
Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. gohsep.la.gov
North Carolina
Coastal zone evacuation maps and ReadyNC household plans.
South Carolina
Hurricane Guide, evacuation zones, lane reversal routes. scemd.org
National
Find your local chapter and the nearest open shelters during an event.
Federal
FEMA Individual Assistance registration after a federal disaster declaration.
Build the baseline first
The basics in the readiness curve cover most of what a hurricane requires. This page adds what's specific to the storm itself. The order is kit first, then hazard-specific layers.
Starting out
One weekend, six pillars, the supplies that get you through the first three days of any disruption.
First 72 HoursGoing deeper
Power outages from major hurricanes routinely run 7 to 14 days. The 2-week tier is what most coastal households actually need.
First 2 Weeks