When I mention the 2005 hurricane season, what storm do most people remember?
That's right, Hurricane Katrina.
Even though the 2005 season swept all the way through the alphabet's worth of names, and even employed the Greek letters alpha through zeta, Katrina is what most folks remember. Those along the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama Gulf coasts certainly remember her, but so does the rest of the nation.
It's worth pointing out there that the authorities on seasonal tropical storm forecasting had predicted a more-active-than-normal 2005 season all along.
I like to think that Americans learned many lessons from Katrina, from the roles of federal and state emergency management agencies, to the capabilities and limitations of our tropical weather forecasting.
That being said, I just want to remind our loyal readers that the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season technically starts on June 1st and continues through November 30th. (I have to say "technically" because those are purely calendar dates. Apparently the atmosphere and Tropical Storm Alberto didn't get the memo.) This year's seasonal forecast is predicting a less-active than usual season due to the expected onset of El Nino conditions. However, all it takes is one land-falling major hurricane for millions of American lives to become changed forever.
I want to provide you some tips and resources here to help our readers be aware and prepared. You might remember my similar request to remain prepared with the Center for Disease Control's Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse guide last fall. Or one of my multiple pleas to invest in a NOAA Weather Radio or a smartphone app to keep weather-aware.
First of all, prepare yourselves and your families NOW. Not when a tropical system is forecast to make landfall near your community. Grab the resources now while you can. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has an up-to-date hurricane preparedness website. It has tips on how to prepare an emergency kit and a family communication plan. FEMA has an outstanding PDF file that you can print and fill out for an easy-to-use communication plan. The National Weather Service has launched their Force of Nature program, inspiring Americans to become weather-aware and take the initiative in preparation. For the past month the weather service has featured numerous public service announcements as part of the Force of Nature campaign.
Need some help quickly acquiring supplies for an emergency preparedness kit? There are numerous "Listmania!" lists available on Amazon, such as this one. Or for an even-easier option you can view the assortment of companies that came up when I Googled "Emergency Preparedness Kits" ... many of which sell ready-to-use complete kits.
Secondly, remain weather-aware. There are now dozens of ways to do this. While you may have your favorite private weather forecasting companies (as do I), understand that when it comes to something as serious as a hurricane evacuation order, those orders will come from government agencies alone. You can start by establishing connections with government resources to get information "pushed" to you:
- Are you on Twitter? Follow the National Weather Service at @USNWSgov and the National Hurricane Center, @NHC_Atlantic and @NHC_Pacific
- How about Facebook? All your favorites are also on Facebook: The National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center.
- Do you prefer getting your information pushed to your e-mail inbox? You can subscribe to their e-mail service through this link (this also works for setting up getting tornado and severe thunderstorm watches pushed to you).
- FEMA is finalizing the ability for text alerts to be pushed to all cell phones in a geographic region, regardless of carrier or home zip code. This system, called the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS), is already in place in New York and Washington, D.C. and is expected to be available nationwide by the mid-2012. This service is free of charge and is a one-way transmission...no information will be collected from individual cell phone users.
- Know where to get information from your local emergency management agencies. FEMA is a good starting point for links to state EMAs. From there you can drill down to your county, city and town offices.
- I'm a Floridian, so I've found our one-stop shop for local hurricane preparedness at FloridaDiaster.org's hurricane information page. Follow your local authorities on Twitter, Facebook and watch your state's PSAs on their respective YouTube channels. Most states are now taking full advantage of social media to get the word out.
- Learn about your community's C.E.R.T. Program. This map shows the counties with programs in place. The Community Emergency Response Team is a citizen-led program of volunteers that educates the community and responds to local disasters in concert with authorities. I've been in contact with my local C.E.R.T. and am proud to know that one of my neighbors is a recent graduate of their volunteer training program.
Finally, here are some education resources to learn more about how tropical systems form, and how they're predicted, tracked, and reported.
- A quick lesson on tropical cyclone formation, brought to you by NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographical and Meteorological Laboratory.
- About hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings.
- About the storm surge, which was the larger danger to the New Orleans area in the 24 hours following the onset of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.
- About measuring tropical systems: The U.S. Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters and NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center.
- Learn about the locations that are used to define the ends of coastal watches and warnings through this interactive map by NOAA's National Hurricane Center.
