As we get older, the years tick by more quickly – or so it seems – and here we are again looking down the barrel of the 2022 North Atlantic hurricane season cannon.
As usual, Colorado State University has released their predictions for the 2022 hurricane season. Also as usual, the season is predicted to be above average.
The average number of named storms in the North Atlantic stands at 14, seven of them hurricanes and three of them major hurricanes. The prediction for 2022 is 19 named storms, nine of them hurricanes and four major hurricanes, because of warmer waters and a lack of El Nino conditions, according to CSU. This is slightly above last year’s predictions of 17 named storms, eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
The fun part of the beginning of hurricane season, if you can justify anything fun about hurricanes, is the names we can expect to hear any day now. This year starts with Alex and ends with Walter. Along the way we have Danielle, Lisa and Richard, among others, but my favorite of this season is Hermine, number eight in the list. Hopefully, we won’t run out of names this year.
The not-so-fun part of getting ready for hurricane season is preparing your home and your family in the event that Hermine comes knocking. The obvious items to add to your hurricane preparedness list are non-perishable foods, usually in cans (don’t forget the manual can opener), bottled water (buy it now; it’s the first thing to fly off the shelves when a storm is coming), batteries, cash, full tank of gas, prescriptions, candles or battery-operated lights, and if you still have a land line telephone, it’s not a bad idea to hang on to it or at the very least keep your cell phones and iPads fully charged if you’re facing a storm.
Remove any outdoor flying objects, furniture, toys, plants and awnings that can turn into missiles aimed at your windows. Secure your boats or move them to dry land if possible. Put together a briefcase with important papers if you need to evacuate like insurance policies, school records, home mortgage information, recent tax returns, bank records, investment records, even important photos or diplomas just in case.
If you live in a potential evacuation area, like I do, make a list of local hotels off the water or set up a safe house with a friend or relative to go to. You always have the official Manatee County shelter evacuation locations; know where yours is.
The mymanatee.org website has a great deal of information concerning everything I just outlined, but in much more detail. It’s worth taking the time to read it and to implement some of their recommendations. Hopefully by now you have upgraded your home to conform to hurricane guidelines, securing all windows, doors and roofs.
A quick note about another disaster. The 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse has been settled to resolve the wrongful death claims brought by family members of the 98 victims. The settlement was for $997 million; this was on top of the settlement earlier this year for the property damage claims of about $83 million.
Let’s hope the families of these poor people can find some peace. Let’s also hope that we can get through this hurricane season peacefully as well, and that Hermine or Gaston or Paula behave themselves. Be safe.
