09/23/2022
Some good reminders.
Hurricanes 101:
1. I'll do my best to share little tidbits about preparation and hurricanes structure over the upcoming days. Many Floridians already know this stuff, but we have a ton of new folks in the area these days.
2. When you see the winds forecast by the hurricane center, those are "maximum sustained winds". They usually only occur in a very small area...something like 10 miles or so. Once you drop off 30 miles from the center, very often you no longer have hurricane force winds. So yes, winds around the eye can be devastating, but that is usually an extremely small area. So the odds are certainly in your favor you won't see the worst of it. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
3. "Hide from the wind, run from the water." It's too early to know what kind of a surge, if any, this storm may have. If you live along the coast, know your flood zone. If you're told to evacuate, do so. Water is the real danger with hurricanes. If this storm hits where the current forecast is, surge will not be a problem for most of the Bay area..
4. Rule #7. This storm is over 1500 miles away. We're talking about an area of about 15 miles that will actually see potentially devastating winds. It's still possible this could actually stay East of Florida too. Prepare like it's going to impact you directly, but know there will be many changes along the way. Good for some, bad for others. We're all going to be stressed over the next week. We'll get through this together, we always do.
