Hurricane preparedness for the Gulf and Atlantic coasts: a checklist and what to do

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) puts the Atlantic hurricane season at June 1 through November 30. It peaks around September 10, and most activity falls between mid-August and mid-October. Storms can still form outside those dates.

NHC figures for the 1991 to 2020 period put an average Atlantic season at 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger). Any one season can be far busier or quieter than that, and it only takes one storm hitting your town to make it a bad year.

The National Weather Service (NWS) says the best time to prepare is before the season starts on June 1. Stores run out, contractors get booked up and flood policies need time to take effect, so do the slow jobs in spring.

⚠ The category measures only wind. NHC says the scale does not account for storm surge, rain flooding or tornadoes, and any of those can kill in a storm of any category. A Category 1 or a tropical storm can still flood your street.

The forecast cone shows where the center of the storm is likely to go, and nothing more. NHC builds it from circles placed along the forecast track. Each circle is sized so that about two-thirds of past forecast errors fell inside it. The NWS says the center stays inside the cone roughly 60 to 70 percent of the time, which means it ends up outside about a third of the time.

Pay attention to how the lead times are counted. The NWS times a hurricane watch from when tropical-storm-force winds arrive, not from landfall, because it may not be safe to prepare once winds reach that strength. When a hurricane warning goes up, the NWS says all preparations should already be finished.

Storm surge is the abnormal rise in water that a storm pushes above the normal tide. NHC says surge can reach well over 20 feet, run along hundreds of miles of coastline and travel several miles inland. It is worst when it arrives on a normal high tide, and waves ride on top of it. NHC notes that seawater weighs about 1,700 pounds per cubic yard, which is why surge can knock down buildings.

During an active storm, NHC issues advisories at least every 6 hours, and every 3 hours once coastal watches or warnings are up. Your local NWS office also posts local statements and threat graphics for wind, surge, flooding and tornadoes. Check those for your town, not just the national map.

Coastal planners use an old rule of thumb that appears in NWS Jacksonville preparedness material: run from the water, hide from the wind. If storm surge can reach your home, you leave. If your only risk is wind, a sturdy home is often the better place to be, and the NWS handout suggests looking at other options before going to a public shelter.

Evacuation zones are drawn mostly from surge risk, not distance from the beach. Local officials order evacuations by zone, so you need to know your zone letter or number before a storm. On the coast, look up your home, your workplace and your children's schools. North Carolina's program suggests the same.

The state-by-state table at the end of this page links each coastal state's lookup or the office that sets zones there.

If you live in a surge risk area, the NWS says to be ready to evacuate and to allow time to pack and tell family. If officials order your zone out, leave right away. Ready.gov says the same for mandatory evacuation zones.

Plan around the arrival of tropical-storm-force winds, not landfall. Louisiana's state guide calls the moment 39 mph winds reach the coast H-hour. Its 2025 emergency guide times evacuation phases from the onset of tropical-storm-force winds: Phase I at 50 hours ahead for areas south of the Intracoastal Waterway that sit outside any levee system, Phase II at 40 hours ahead for levee-protected areas that are still vulnerable, and Phase III at 30 hours ahead for the east bank of the Mississippi in the New Orleans metro. The guide says your parish office has the final word on your address.

Contraflow, where highway lanes are reversed so all traffic heads inland, is used in some states. TxDOT publishes contraflow brochures for routes including I-10, I-45, US 290, US 59 and I-37, and Louisiana's guide maps contraflow on I-10, I-55 and I-59. Check road conditions before you leave: DriveTexas.org or 800-452-9292 in Texas, and 511la.org or 511 in Louisiana.

⚠ If water starts coming into a home where you sheltered, go to the highest floor. Ready.gov warns not to climb into a closed attic, because rising water can trap you there. Only go up if you have a way out onto the roof. The NWS calls this a life-threatening situation, which is why the only safe plan in a surge zone is to leave before the water comes.

Hurricanes also bring tornadoes. NHC says those tornadoes are usually weak and short-lived but still dangerous, and that most form in rain bands well away from the center. Being far from the eye does not mean you are out of danger.

Rain flooding depends on how slowly a storm moves and how big it is, not on its category. NHC says tropical systems often bring more than 6 inches of rain, and flooding is the main hazard for people who live inland. Even far from the coast, if your area floods in heavy rain, treat a slow storm as a flood event.

The NWS says carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the leading causes of death after storms in places without power. Most of the risks in the days after a hurricane come from generators, floodwater, downed lines, chainsaws and heat.

For texting instead of calling, photographing damage for insurance and stress support, Ready.gov and CDC both have guidance. SAMHSA's Disaster Distress Helpline is 1-800-985-5990, call or text.