Hurricanes

Make plans to secure your property. Permanent storm shutters offer the best protection for windows. A second option is to board up windows with 5/8” marine plywood, cut to fit and ready to install. Tape does not prevent windows from breaking.

Secure your home, close storm shutters, and secure outdoor objects or bring them indoors. Objects such as lawn furniture, trash barrels, hanging plants, toys, and even awnings can be broken and picked up by strong winds and potentially become a projectile.

More information can be found at Farmer's Almanac

Some folks in my business start watching tropical waves as soon as they come off the coast of Africa. Every day, these folks check to see which waves exhibit signs of organization. The NHC will circle suspect areas and give a percentage, based on the chances the wave will form into a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours. That information goes on their website. Also, a tropical wave that is showing signs of getting better organized might be given a number, like "invest 97L," and weather forecast models might be initiated.

While the models have gotten better over the years, they are still often unreliable until a system spins up into a closed circulation (tropical depression). Without a closed circulation, the models are only decent at predicting the general movement of a developing tropical wave across the Atlantic.

You can find more information at Extreme Storms