Hurricane Awareness

In the event of an outage, please call 888-338-5530 and follow the automated system prompts. This is the most efficient way to notify the Cooperative of your outage. Please view our real-time system map for information on outages, crews in the area and the number of members affected.

What is a Hurricane Watch? - Hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours.

What is a Hurricane Warning? - Hurricane conditions are forecast for an area within 24 hours or less.

Preparedness Tips:

• When a Hurricane Watch is issued you should take the following steps to ensure you are ready in the event the hurricane does hit your area: Fuel your cars; do not wait until a Hurricane Warning is issued.
• Check your emergency supplies and stock up on items that are needed.
• Ensure you have enough food and containers for your water supply. Fill bathtubs, sinks and jugs with clean water, in case of water contamination. Set refrigerator and freezer at their highest settings, do not open needlessly.
• If evacuation has not already been recommended or ordered, consider leaving early to avoid long hours on the roads. Remember that weather conditions will deteriorate quickly as the hurricane approaches.
• Communicate with your family members often and be ready to act quickly should a warning be issued. Time is on your side at this point, but conditions can change hour to hour. Make a plan to reunite if separated. Have a designated out-of-state family or friend that everyone knows how to reach.
• Stay tuned to television and radio for official bulletins. Have a portable battery operated radio or television, be sure to have extra batteries.
• When using a portable generator make sure you know what loads it can handle, including start- up wattage. If you connect the generator to household circuits, you must have a transfer switch installed between the generator and outside power, or the "backfeed" could seriously harm or kill a utility worker.
• Place valuables in a waterproof container and store it at the highest point in your home. Have at least 2 copies of vital documents, originals should be stored in a safe deposit box. Keep one copy in safe place in your home and mail the second copy to someone out-of-town. Keep an inventory of your home, garage and surrounding property.
• Plan home escape routes with two ways out of each room.
• Teach all responsible family members how to turn off water, gas, and electricity at the main switches or valves. Keep a wrench nearby. Only turn off utilities if your suspect a leak or authorities instruct you to do so.

Hurricane Warning issued, take the following steps:

• If you live in a manufactured home, secure it and evacuate.
• If your doctor has advised that any ill or disabled persons in your home stay elsewhere, move them now.
• If an evacuation order is issued, lock your home and leave.
• Prepare for high winds by bracing garage doors, lowering antennas, and anchoring loose objects that are outside and that cannot be brought indoors.
• If you own a boat, move it to a secure area.
• Keep your radio, flashlights and extra batteries nearby. The power may go off without warning. Avoid using candles, but if you must, never leave them unattended!
• During the hurricane, resist temptation to go outside or watch through the windows. Hurricane force winds, downed live power lines and falling or flying debris all pose serious dangers.
• As the winds increase, move to a room within a room, such as an interior closet or bathroom.
• If the 'eye' moves over your location, again resist the urge to go outside. Hurricane force winds, heavy rains and accompanying dangers will resume rapidly. Winds will return from the opposite direction

After the Storm:

• If you have evacuated, wait until authorities say it is safe before returning home.
• Avoid loose or dangling power lines; immediately report them to the power company.
• Check refrigerated foods for spoilage and discard rotten food.
• Be aware of snakes, bees and other dangerous animals that may be more aggressive as a result of the storm. Also, animals may take refuge on your property if it is dry and their habitat is flooded.
• Use extreme caution when using chainsaws.
• Call 911 only in emergencies. Remember that emergency crews will be overwhelmed during the recovery period.
• Do not leave the house if possible. Streets may be blocked, power lines down and street lights malfunctioning or out. It is safest to stay home.

Saffir-Simpson Scale

Hurricanes are categorized according to the strength of their winds using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. A Category 1 storm has the lowest wind speeds, while a Category 5 hurricane has the strongest. These are relative terms, because lower category storms can sometimes inflict greater damage than higher category storms, depending on where they strike and the particular hazards they bring. In fact, tropical storms can also produce significant damage and loss of life, mainly due to flooding.

Is Your Home Storm Ready? See if your home is properly prepared to face a Hurricane.

History of Naming Hurricanes

For several hundred years, hurricanes in the West Indies were often named after the particular saint’s day on which the hurricane occurred. For example "Hurricane San Felipe" struck Puerto Rico on September 13, 1876. Another storm struck Puerto Rico on the same day in 1928, and this storm was named "Hurricane San Felipe the second." Later, latitude-longitude positions were used. However, experience has shown that using distinctive names in communications is quicker and less subject to error than the cumbersome latitude-longitude identification methods.

Using women’s names became the practice during World War II, following the use of a woman’s name for a storm in the 1941 novel "Storm" by George R. Stewart. In 1951 the United States adopted a confusing plan to name storms by a phonetic alphabet (Able, Baker, Charlie), and in 1953 the nation’s weather services returned to using female names. The practice of using female names exclusively ended in 1978 when names from both genders were used to designate storms in the eastern Pacific. A year later, male and female names were included in lists for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The name lists, which have been agreed upon at international meetings of the World Meteorological Organization, have an international flavor because hurricanes affect other nations and are tracked by the public and weather services of many countries.

The Tropical Prediction Center near Miami, FL keeps a constant watch on oceanic storm-breeding grounds. Once a system with counter-clockwise circulation and wind speeds of 39 mph or greater is identified, the Center gives the storm a name from the list for the current year. The letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z are not included because of the scarcity of names beginning with those letters. Names associated with storms that have caused significant death and/or damage are usually retired from the list.

Handling A Power Outage

How To Operate A Portable Generator Safely.

Seguridad electrica durante las tormentas