Community Corner

Four Tips to Weather a New England Hurricane

Are you ready for hurricane season? The National Weather Service has released handy info on what makes a New England hurricane unique and what residents can do to prepare.

The winds may be fair at the moment, but hurricane season is upon us!

To encourage New Englanders to gear up before the storms arrive, the National Weather Service has released handy preparation tips as part of New England Hurricane Preparedness Week.

Here’s what the experts from the NWS have to say about the reality of New England hurricanes:

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1. Location, Location, Location

Storms that originate from the Bahamas and the Cape Verde Islands off of the western African coast are more likely to barrel up to New England. 

Keep an extra sharp eye out for storms that earn a name in the Bahamas, because they can quickly become more serious and can reach New England quickly. Hurricane Bob, which struck in 1991, started off in warm Bahamian waters.

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2. They’re Faster than You Think

Hurricanes that travel up the coast to New England often accelerate as they go, the NWS reports.

Glenn Field, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, cautioned New Englanders to prepare for severe weather 12 to 14 hours before the eye of the storm makes landfall.

“You’re going to be behind the eight-ball if you prepare for the eye landfall,” he said.


3. Be Your Own Meteorologist! Predict If You’ll See Floods or Winds

If you know where your home lies compared to the track of the eye, you can probably make a good guess whether you'll see more flooding or winds.

The NWS explains that New England hurricanes split in a pretty predictable way: more rain and floods to the left of the eye; winds and storm surge to the right. There are, of course, always exceptions.


4. Brace Yourself for the Wind Gusts

New Englanders can also calculate how severe the windstorms will become before the hurricane arrives!

To figure out how bad the gusts will be in your area, look up the storm’s current maximum wind gusts, as well as its rate of travel. If your home lies to the right of the eye, add the rate of travel to the maximum gust. Subtract it if you’re to the left of the eye.


For more information on hurricane preparedness, visit the NWS website.


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