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Strong Hurricane Season Coming; Prep Yourself, Your Practice

By William Peacock, Esq. on August 15, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

All it takes is one bad hurricane for it to be a "bad" hurricane season. Nonetheless, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, this upcoming season could be "more active than normal" and perhaps "very active."

Why? The short answer is because meteorologists said so. The long answer involves warmer than normal Atlantic sea surface temperatures and a strong rainy season in West Africa. Altogether, the season could see 13 to 19 tropical storms, six to nine of which could become hurricanes.

Three to five of those storms are expected to be major hurricanes with winds of 111 mph or more.

With all those weather worries, here are a few tips, many from former FindLaw blogger and hurricane survivor Robyn Hagan Cain, to help you make it through the season, especially should the worst case scenario happen:

Let There Be Light

When the power goes out, you'll be happy to have some source of light. Candles are a fire hazard that produce heat in your no longer air-conditioned home. Spring for flashlights, especially energy-sipping LED flashlights, and keep plenty of batteries on hand.

Fill Your Bathtub

The first time we heard this tip, we thought, "Gross. You can't drink that." Well, if things get really bad, you might be able to, but the real reason for the tub o' water is for refilling and flushing your toilet.

Booze and Parties

Has there ever been a better idea than hosting a hurricane party? You have a ton of food that will spoil, should you lose power. You'll also have lots of time to kill in that instance. Gather your friends, and some booze, and lots of hurricane supplies, and throw a multi-day sleepover.

Seth Porges, writing for Forbes, also recalls a tip from a Hurricane Ike survivor who noted that beer was the ultimate currency. A few brews could be traded for help with cleanup or other supplies.

Watch Out for Windows

There is some debate here, with Poges taking the stance that taping up your window is pointless (it'll break either way), while Cain advises that should you be unable to board up your windows, clearing your balcony of projectiles and taping cardboard over the inside of the window will keep broken class from shooting in.

Live in the Library

Need power? How about Internet access? Perhaps a little human contact would help too. After Hurricane Sandy, New Yorkers found help in an unexpected place: the local library, reports NPR. The staff allowed locals to use the restrooms, helped them register for FEMA, and the branch served as a makeshift gathering point for Red Cross and other organizations.

Working

Check the court's website. Should it be closed, the court will almost certainly notify the public through its site or through the local news.

Otherwise, if you have briefs to write, you'd better hope you have a laptop with the new "all-day" Haswell chips. If you need the Internet, you might get lucky with a cellular data connection, either tethered from your phone or from a standalone device.

For more tips on preparing your tech for the storm, check out our post on our Technologist blog.

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