Hurricane Preparedness Blog

When a hurricane threatens, local information will be the best information.   But will you know where to find it?….

In my 12 years of working with the public concerning hurricane preparedness, one issue that comes up again and again is concerning local information when a hurricane threatens. Too often, we rely on national news media outlets for “breaking news” which seems to occur on a daily basis these days. Even the text crawls at the bottom of the cable news channels are chocked full of tid-bits of information or data. Therein lies the problem: none of this information is likely sent by local officials to these news channels. Sound bytes and quotes about an impending hurricane event are not sufficient when dealing with a hurricane threat.

Max Mayfield, former National Hurricane Center director, participated in several hurricane preparedness interviews while I was working with local governments over the years. He always stressed the importance of listening to the advice of local officials. But where can this advice be found? Oftentimes it is noted in what is called the “Hurricane Local Statement” (HLS) from your nearest National Weather Service office.

These are the men and women who take on the hurricane along the front lines in your community. Their office works closely with local emergency management officials to gather and disseminate information and data that is relevant to the local communities threatened by the hurricane. Evacuation orders, effects from the hurricane, storm tide information, rain fall predictions, tornado threats and other local considerations are discussed in fairly detailed, easy to understand language within the HLS. In fact, the local Weather Forecast Office in your area is the best source of information when you are looking for what impacts a given hurricane will have on your area. Since no two hurricanes are alike, they do not issue blanket statements but rather up to date and constantly revised information that can help you to better understand the nature of the threat headed your way.

I always make it a point to mention the HLS when there is a threat of a landfalling tropical storm or hurricane. The National Hurricane Center links to these statements within their advisory package page. It is easy to access and should be a tool that is part of your hurricane plan. Knowledge truly is power and in this case, the power that you are up against is far more overwhelming than most people can ever imagine. Arm yourself with the best local information that you can. When a hurricane or tropical storm threatens your community, look for the HLS via the National Hurricane Center’s web site or by visiting weather.gov and inputting your zip code. HurricaneTrack will also have links to these important statements throughout the duration of any hurricane landfall event. It’s critical information that you have paid for through your taxes. Use it and be in the know!