Hurricane Preparedness Week: A 7-Day Plan to Get Ready

Most people think hurricanes kill with wind. They don't. Storm surge (the wall of seawater pushed ashore by a hurricane's circulation) is historically the leading cause of hurricane-related deaths in the United States, and inland freshwater flooding is the second. Wind ranks well below both.

That single fact reframes how to prepare. The question isn't whether your house can withstand a Category 3, it's whether you'll be inside it when surge or floodwater arrives.

In 2026, National Hurricane Preparedness Week ran from May 3 through May 9 ahead of the Atlantic hurricane season's June 1 start. NOAA assigns each day an official theme, and the same preparation steps remain useful throughout hurricane season. This guide walks through all seven, pairing each focus with specific actions. Work through one day at a time, or complete the plan in one sitting.

The Atlantic season runs June 1 through November 30. The Central Pacific season runs the same dates. Over 1900-2018, NOAA's Hurricane Research Division counts an average of roughly 1.7 hurricanes per year making landfall on the continental US, of which about 0.6 per year are major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger, winds of 111 mph or greater). Those averages move around depending on which coastline, basin, and period you count, and no average tells you about your particular stretch of coast. You don't need to predict whether this year is your year. You just need to be ready before it might be.

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Sunday, May 3, Know Your Risk (Water and Wind)

The first day's theme is the foundation: understand exactly which hurricane hazards threaten your specific location. Hurricane risk varies enormously block to block, and it isn't measured in categories.

Hurricanes produce four primary hazards, plus a fifth that's often overlooked:

• Storm surge, seawater pushed inland by a hurricane's wind circulation. Historically the leading cause of hurricane deaths.
• Inland flooding, freshwater flooding from rainfall, often hundreds of miles from the coast. The second leading cause of fatalities from landfalling tropical cyclones.
• High winds, structural damage, downed trees, and power outages.
• Tornadoes, embedded in the outer rain bands, often with little warning.
• Rip currents, dangerous along Atlantic and Gulf beaches for days, even when a hurricane stays offshore.

To assess your specific risk, look up three things:

1. Your evacuation zone. Coastal counties from Texas to Maine assign every address a zone (typically a letter such as A, B, C, or D, or a number). Zones are based on storm surge risk, not hurricane category. A Category 1 storm hitting at high tide can flood a coast more severely than a Category 4 striking at low tide on a steep shoreline. Search "[your county] hurricane evacuation zone" or use your state emergency management website.
2. Your FEMA flood zone. This tells you whether your home sits in a 100-year or 500-year freshwater floodplain. Check the FEMA Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov.
3. The NHC Storm Surge Inundation Map at nhc.noaa.gov, which models how deep surge could be at your address for various storm intensities.

If you live inland, hurricane risk doesn't end at the coast. Hurricane Helene (2024) caused catastrophic flooding in the southern Appalachians, hundreds of miles from where it made landfall. Hurricane Ida (2021) killed dozens in the Northeast from inland flooding days after coming ashore in Louisiana. Wind, tornadoes, and rainfall reach far beyond the cone.

For more on what hurricane categories actually measure (and what they don't), see our guide to hurricane categories and the Saffir-Simpson scale.

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Monday, May 4, Prepare Before Hurricane Season (Storm Surge)

This is the heaviest action day. Three big tasks: insurance, supplies, and evacuation logistics. Tackle them now, while there's no storm in the forecast and stores are fully stocked.

Get insurance squared away

Insurance is the easiest thing to put off and one of the most expensive things to skip.

• Standard homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. This catches new homeowners off guard every year. Flood coverage is sold separately, usually through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or a private flood insurer.
• NFIP policies have a 30-day waiting period before they take effect. Buying flood insurance in August when a storm is in the cone is too late. May is the time.
• Review your wind/hurricane deductible. In coastal states, this is often a percentage of dwelling coverage (2%, 5%, sometimes 10%) rather than a flat dollar amount. On a $400,000 house, a 5% wind deductible means $20,000 out of pocket before coverage kicks in.
• Renters need flood insurance too. Standard renters policies don't cover flood damage to your belongings. NFIP contents-only policies are inexpensive and worth it in any flood-prone area.
• Document your belongings. Walk through every room with your phone camera, narrating what you see. Open closets and cabinets. Save the video to cloud storage you can access from anywhere.

Build a 7-day supply kit

FEMA has historically recommended a 3-day kit. After a major hurricane, electricity, water, and supply chains can take a week or longer to restore. Plan for seven days, not three. Stock:

• Water: 1 gallon per person per day, plus extra for pets. A family of four needs 28 gallons for a week.
• Food: Non-perishable items that don't require cooking, canned goods, peanut butter, granola bars, dried fruit. Include a manual can opener.
• Power and light: Flashlights, extra batteries, multiple power banks for phones, and a NOAA Weather Radio (a hand-crank model with a built-in radio band is ideal).
• Medical: A two-week supply of any prescription medications, a first aid kit, and copies of medical records and insurance cards.
• Documents: IDs, insurance policies, deeds, and birth certificates in a waterproof container or sealed bag.
• Cash: Small bills. ATMs and card readers fail when power goes out.
• Sanitation: Toilet paper, hygiene supplies, garbage bags, and bleach.
• Pet supplies: Food, water, vaccination records, a carrier, and a leash. Most public shelters do not accept pets without proof of vaccination, and many don't accept them at all.

Stores empty fast in the 48 hours before landfall. Bottled water, batteries, plywood, and generators are typically the first to disappear. Buying in May means none of those are issues.

Plan evacuation routes

Know your zone, then plan how you'd leave it. Identify two routes because the primary highway will jam quickly. Identify two destinations, ideally inland family or friends, with a hotel as a backup. Public shelters should be a last resort: they're often crowded, have limited supplies, and frequently don't accept pets.

If you have anyone in your household with mobility limitations, medical equipment that needs power, or a disability, plan now for what they'll need on the road. Many counties maintain registries for residents who'll need transportation assistance during an evacuation. Sign up before you need it.

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Tuesday, May 5, Understand Forecast Information (High Winds)

Tuesday's theme is reading the official products correctly. Misunderstanding a watch, a warning, or the forecast cone leads to bad decisions.

Watch vs. Warning:

Product	Meaning	Lead Time
Hurricane Watch	Hurricane conditions are possible in the watch area	Issued about 48 hours before anticipated tropical-storm-force winds
Hurricane Warning	Hurricane conditions are expected or already occurring	Issued about 36 hours before anticipated tropical-storm-force winds

The table uses NOAA's hurricane watch and warning lead times. The NHC issues watches and warnings for three separate hazards; consult each product for its expected timing:

• Tropical Storm Watch / Warning, for sustained winds of 39–73 mph.
• Hurricane Watch / Warning, for sustained winds of 74 mph or higher.
• Storm Surge Watch / Warning: issued separately since 2017, specifically for life-threatening inundation from rising water. A coastline can be under a Storm Surge Warning even when the wind warnings are lower category. Pay attention to all three.

The NHC forecast cone extends through five days and is widely misread. The cone shows the probable forecast track of the storm's center, not the area where impacts will occur. Hurricane-force winds, surge, and rainfall routinely extend hundreds of miles from the center, far outside the cone. Historically about two-thirds of past forecast centers fell inside the cone, meaning roughly one-third did not. Don't assume you're safe because you're outside the line.

For more on warning products, see NWS outlooks, watches, and warnings explained. And remember that central pressure is often a better indicator of intensifying storms than the category alone; see our barometric pressure guide for context.

Reliable sources, in order:

• National Hurricane Center at nhc.noaa.gov, the authoritative source for advisories, forecasts, and surge guidance.
• Your local NWS office at weather.gov, local impact forecasts and ground truth.
• NOAA Weather Radio, the only source that keeps working when power and cell service fail.

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Wednesday, May 6, When a Storm Threatens (Flooding)

When a storm is days out and your area is in the cone, the prep window opens. This is when last-minute tasks happen, the ones you can't do until you know a storm is actually coming.

• Top off fuel and cash. Gas stations run dry within 24 hours of a watch in the area. ATMs follow shortly after.
• Charge everything. Phones, laptops, tablets, power banks, and any battery-operated medical equipment.
• Bring in or secure outdoor items. Patio furniture, grills, trash cans, planters, kids' toys, and trampolines all become projectiles in 80+ mph winds.
• Board windows or close shutters. Pre-cut plywood (5/8" minimum) labeled by window saves hours of work.
• Brace your garage door. A failed garage door is one of the most common ways hurricanes destroy homes: it pressurizes the interior and can lift the roof off. Garage door bracing kits cost less than $200 and install in an afternoon.
• Fill bathtubs and pots with water for flushing toilets and washing if water service is interrupted.
• Know when to leave. Evacuate when ordered. Don't wait for the next advisory, the storm to strengthen, or the highway to clear. Both will get worse.

If your area floods, do not drive through it. Just 6 inches of moving water can knock an adult down, and 12 inches can float a small car. Two feet of moving water can carry away SUVs and trucks. The majority of flood deaths occur in vehicles. Turn around, don't drown, every time, no exceptions.

For a deeper look at flood mechanics and survival, see our guide to flash floods.

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Thursday, May 7, During the Storm (Tornadoes)

Once the storm is on top of you, your decisions narrow to a few simple rules.

• Shelter on the lowest safe floor, in an interior room with no windows, a hallway, bathroom, or closet. "Lowest safe" matters because if you're in a surge zone, the lowest floor will flood; in that case go up. If you're inland, go down.
• Stay away from windows. Even with shutters or plywood, debris can breach them.
• Any tropical system is capable of producing tornadoes. Tropical cyclone tornadoes spin up most often in the right-front quadrant of the storm and frequently form with very little warning lead time. If a tornado warning is issued for your area while a hurricane is occurring, treat it as a tornado and shelter accordingly.
• The eye is not "all clear." When the eye passes over, winds drop suddenly and the sky may even brighten. This is a trap. Within minutes, the back wall of the eye arrives and winds resume, from the opposite direction, often violently. Stay sheltered.
• Stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio and local broadcasts. Cell networks degrade quickly during major hurricanes; battery-powered radios keep working.
• Don't open doors to "check." Don't go outside to see the flooding or the wind. Most photos and videos of hurricane damage were taken after the storm, by people who waited.

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Friday, May 8, After the Storm (Rip Currents and Post-Storm Hazards)

The storm is past, the wind has died down, and the temptation is to walk outside and start cleaning up. This is the most dangerous moment of the entire event for many people. Nearly half of hurricane fatalities occur after the storm has passed, from generators, downed power lines, flooded roads, and structural collapse.

Generator safety

Portable generators kill people every hurricane season, and the cause is almost always carbon monoxide poisoning. CO is colorless, odorless, and lethal within minutes at high concentrations.

• Never run a generator indoors, in a garage, in a basement, or in any enclosed or partially enclosed space, even with the door open.
• Run the generator outdoors, at least 20 feet from any window, door, or vent, with the exhaust pointing away from the house.
• Install a battery-powered (or battery-backup) carbon monoxide alarm on every level of your home. Standard hardwired alarms don't work without power, exactly when you need them most.
• Don't refuel a hot generator. Let it cool, then refuel with the engine off.

Downed power lines and floodwater

• Assume every downed line is energized, even if it looks dead. Stay at least 30 feet away. Report it to your utility, not 911, unless someone is in contact with the line.
• Don't enter floodwater. Post-storm floodwater contains sewage, fuel, agricultural chemicals, debris, and frequently submerged power lines. Even shallow water can be electrified by a downed line a block away. Wading through it is one of the easier ways to get hurt or sick after a hurricane.
• Don't drive through standing water on roads. You can't see how deep it is, what's underneath, or whether the road is still there.

Returning home and rebuilding

• Document damage thoroughly with photos and video before you start cleaning up. Insurance adjusters need this evidence.
• Contact your insurance company within the first week. Claims fill up quickly after major storms.
• Be wary of contractors going door to door immediately after a disaster. Verify licenses and get multiple written quotes before signing anything.

Rip currents

If you live near or visit Atlantic or Gulf beaches, rip currents from a passing or distant hurricane persist for days, even with sunny skies and calm-looking surf. Watch for double red flags (beach closed) and listen to lifeguards. A hurricane offshore is still affecting the surf zone.

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Saturday, May 9, Take Action Today (Complete a Written Plan)

The final day of preparedness week pulls everything together: a written plan that everyone in your household has read.

This matters more than it sounds. Stress and time pressure during a real warning impair decision-making. People delay because they're trying to remember the plan, or they argue about it because nobody wrote it down. A simple printed page on the refrigerator removes that friction.

A good plan answers four questions:

1. When do we leave? Set explicit triggers. Example: "We evacuate when our zone is ordered to evacuate, OR when a major hurricane (Cat 3+) is forecast within 72 hours of landfall on our coast, whichever comes first."
2. Where do we go? Two destinations, in priority order, with addresses and phone numbers.
3. How do we communicate? Pick an out-of-state contact everyone calls or texts in to. Long-distance circuits often work when local ones are jammed. Agree on a meeting place if cell service is down.
4. Who is responsible for what? Who packs the supplies? Who handles pets? Who grabs the documents?

Distribute the plan to every adult and old-enough child in the household. Review it once a year: addresses change, kids get older, jobs move.

While you're at it, help your neighbor. Elderly neighbors, neighbors with disabilities, single parents, and people who've recently moved to a hurricane-prone area may not have a plan. Asking takes thirty seconds. Helping someone build a kit or copying your evacuation plan for them takes an hour. Community resilience reduces everyone's burden when a real storm comes.

Free templates and checklists are available from:

• Ready.gov, ready.gov/hurricanes
• FEMA, fema.gov
• American Red Cross, redcross.org

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Tracking Hurricanes with WeatherAI

Once your plan is in place, the next requirement is awareness. WeatherAI helps you stay ahead of developing tropical systems:

• NHC advisories and tropical outlooks delivered with push notifications when a system enters or threatens your area.
• High-resolution radar and satellite imagery to track storm structure as it approaches the coast.
• NWS alerts with push notifications for hurricane, tropical storm, storm surge, tornado, and flash flood warnings.
• AI-powered explanations, ask "What's the latest on the tropics?" or "Should I be worried about this storm?" and get a clear, location-aware answer.
• Hourly precipitation and wind forecasts so you can see exactly when conditions deteriorate at your address.

See the full WeatherAI hurricane tracker app guide for 5-day forecast cones, watch and warning layers, and 7-day tropical development outlooks.

Download WeatherAI for iPhone →

Always Verify with Official Sources

For tropical systems, always verify with official sources. The National Hurricane Center issues authoritative advisories, the National Weather Service provides local impact forecasts, and your county or state emergency management agency issues evacuation orders. Apps and TV summaries are useful, but the official products are the ones to act on.

Sources for the figures in this guide: landfall averages are from NOAA AOML's hurricane FAQ, continental US landfall statistics for 1900-2018. Category definitions follow the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which is based on maximum sustained wind only.

The Bottom Line

Three takeaways from Hurricane Preparedness Week:

1. Storm surge has historically been the deadliest hurricane hazard. Know your evacuation zone; the zone is based on surge risk, not on the storm's category.
2. Flood insurance has a 30-day waiting period. Buy it in May, not in August. Standard homeowners policies don't cover flood damage.
3. A written plan beats a remembered one. Stress impairs judgment. The plan removes the decisions from the moment.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. Finish your plan before a storm is on the map, then review it throughout the season.

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For more on tropical weather, see our guide to hurricane categories and the Saffir-Simpson scale, or learn how meteorologists track storm intensity in our guide to barometric pressure.