May 2008

We are less than one month away...

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season starts Sunday, June 1. Now is the time to work on completing your hurricane preparations, including assembling your disaster survival kit, finding your evacuation level and building an updated list of important phone numbers.

Yes, the preseason predictions are calling for a busy year. However, as the 1992 hurricane season proved – it takes only one storm to make a bad year. That season, there were only six named storms. The first one? Hurricane Andrew.

When you hear about these preseason predictions, do you ever wonder how they are formulated? One of the most respected – and anticipated – predictions is prepared at Colorado State University. Noted hurricane experts Dr. Phillip Klotzbach and Dr. William Gray consider many weather conditions in such places as the tropical Pacific and the North Atlantic at different altitudes. By gathering this data and observing the activity level of past hurricane seasons, the Colorado State forecasters get an idea of just how busy a season might be.

Are they always right? Well, weather is a very complex system, and the team will make adjustments to its forecast throughout the season. Look for updated forecasts from Colorado State on June 3, Aug. 5, Sept. 2 and Oct. 1. For more information on the program, visit http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu.

For the record, here are the names for the 2008 Hurricane Season:

Know Your Zone – Understanding Evacuation Levels

You may have found it on the Internet, by calling Emergency Management or by opening your utility bill. Maybe a neighbor told you. Now that you know what your evacuation level is, what exactly does it mean?

First and foremost, what are you being evacuated from? When a hurricane is coming, people tend to focus on the wind speed. However, the greatest killer in hurricanes is storm surge. More Americans died in the storm surge of the Great Galveston Hurricane in September 1900 (6,000 – 12,000) than have died in every U.S. landfalling hurricane since combined.

Knowing this, evacuation zones are drawn based on the land’s elevation above sea level and the anticipated storm surge level. Thus, a level A evacuation would be called for a category one storm, a B level for a category two, and so on.

There is one notable exception. Mobile homes are never considered safe places to ride out a hurricane because they are vulnerable to high winds or debris impact. Regardless of the evacuation level called, all mobile home residents will also be required to evacuate.

To find your evacuation level, go here: http://gis.pinellascounty.org/hurricane%5Ftxt/

Renters should plan now

As a storm approaches, homeowners in non-evacuation zones are urged to prepare their homes to withstand heavy winds. But what should you do if you rent?

If you rent, here are some steps that you can take to prepare yourself for a hurricane:

1. The first step in hurricane preparedness is to know your evacuation zone. Pinellas County offers several outlets to locate your zone. There is www.pinellascounty.org/emergency, the Interactive Voice Response System at (727) 453-3150 or the evacuation zone map found within the official Surviving the Storm Hurricane Guide for Pinellas County. Remember, be ready to evacuate when ordered.

2. Prepare yourself for the possibilities of damage to your personal property. Flood insurance and renter’s insurance could be invaluable policies to replace your belongings should they be damaged. In conjunction with your insurance policy, take an inventory of your possessions to help during the recovery.

3. Ask questions of your landlord. Will your landlord take steps to protect the windows? Find out today. If not, you will need to find another place to ride out the storm, even if you live in a non-evacuation zone.

Just as with homeowners, you have a responsibility to create a personal hurricane plan. By finding out now what you will need to do, you may save your life when a storm threatens.

Is your car ready for hurricane season?

Before a hurricane, you’ll need your car to get supplies and take you to a safe place to evacuate. After a storm, you’ll still need it to get supplies, and it might serve as a place to get some relief. That’s why it’s important to get your car ready for hurricane season as well.

Some things you might want to consider:

• Make sure your car is in good running order. Get any basic maintenance (tune ups, repairs) done before a storm threatens. Have your mechanic check belts, hoses and vital fluid levels.

• Keep your gas tank at least half full with gas. When a hurricane watch is issued, that’s an excellent time to fill your tank.

• Build a survival kit for your car, including:
  • A first aid kit
  • A can of fix-a-flat
  • Easy to eat non-perishable food
  • Bottled water
  • A basic tool kit
  • Jumper cables
  • A working jack – and your spare tire
  • A flashlight
  • A power inverter (converts the current in your cigarette lighter to household current)
  • Chargers for cell phones and other electronic devices
  • A map, so you know where you are going

Mobile Homes are Not Safe Havens

While mobile homes are great places to call home, they are NEVER good shelters should a hurricane threaten our coastline. The destructive 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons graphically illustrated that mobile homes cannot withstand the high winds a hurricane can bring. Even homes built after 1994 to the tougher standards enacted after Hurricane Andrew sustained damage when they were flipped off their foundations or damaged by flying debris during Hurricane Charley.

No matter the category of storm, whenever an evacuation order is given, all mobile home residents must evacuate. Not only is it the law, it also makes good sense. Again, it has to be stressed that no mobile home is a good shelter during a hurricane. Mobile homes built before 1994 can not stand up to the power and fury a hurricane can pack. Those built after the new standards can be overturned or damaged by flying debris.

That’s why it’s so important for mobile home residents to have an evacuation plan in case a hurricane threatens. One word of caution – most mobile home park recreation centers are not rated to withstand high winds, either. Ask your park’s management what plans – if any – are in place for sheltering options and for evacuation notification.

Stock up on Hurricane Preparedness Know-How

Hurricane season will be here before we know it, and it only takes one storm to make a bad season. Member libraries of the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative will host a series of free, fun and informative sessions on how to prepare for the season. Those offerings are:

• Becoming Storm Savvy: While we are still in the hurricane preseason, it’s an excellent time to learn how you can prepare yourself to prevent panic if we are affected by a storm. From learning how to put together a survival kit without busting your budget to planning ahead for evacuations, tips are offered for everyone.

• Hurricane 101: What is a hurricane? How do they form? What are their effects? Get the basics on these dangerous tropical storms.

• Busting Hurricane Myths: Learn the dangers of some commonly held beliefs when hurricanes approach. Not only will you find the real story, you may also save your life if the big one comes.

• Hurricanes for Kids: Hurricane season can be a very frightening time for younger family members. By using experiments and easy-to-understand language, your youngsters can find some control over these scary situations.

The times, dates and locations for these information sessions are:

• May 3, 10:30 a.m. – Hurricane 101
  • East Lake Community Library, 4125 East Lake Road, Palm Harbor (727) 773-2665

• May 8, 10:30 a.m. – Busting Hurricane Myths
  • East Lake Community Library, 4125 East Lake Road, Palm Harbor (727) 773-2665

• May 10, 11 a.m. – Becoming Storm Savvy
  • Oldsmar Public Library, 400 St. Petersburg Drive East, Oldsmar (813) 749-1178

• May 17, 11 a.m. – Busting Hurricane Myths
  • Oldsmar Public Library, 400 St. Petersburg Drive East, Oldsmar (813) 749-1178

• May 19, 6:30 p.m. – Hurricane 101
  • Largo Public Library, 120 Central Park Drive, Largo (727) 587-6715

• May 22, 2 p.m. – Becoming Storm Savvy
  • Pinellas Park Public Library, 7770 52nd St., Pinellas Park (727) 541-0718

• May 24, 11 a.m. – Hurricane 101
  • Oldsmar Public Library, 400 St. Petersburg Drive East, Oldsmar (813) 749-1178

• May 31, 11 a.m. – Hurricanes for Kids
  • Oldsmar Public Library, 400 St. Petersburg Drive East, Oldsmar (813) 749-1178

• June 3, 7 p.m. – Hurricane 101
  • Dunedin Public Library, 223 Douglas Ave., Dunedin (727) 298-3080

• June 4, 2 p.m. – Hurricane 101
  • St. Pete Beach Public Library, 365 73rd Ave., St. Pete Beach (727) 363-9238

• June 23, 7 p.m. – Hurricane 101
  • Pinellas Park Public Library, 7770 52nd St., Pinellas Park (727) 541-0718

• June 24, 4 p.m. – Hurricanes for Kids
  • St. Pete Beach Public Library, 365 73rd Ave., St. Pete Beach (727) 363-9238

• June 25, 2 p.m. – Hurricanes for Kids
  • Clearwater Main Library, 100 N. Osceola Ave., Clearwater (727) 562-4970

• July 9, 2 p.m. – Busting Hurricane Myths
  • St. Pete Beach Public Library, 365 73rd Ave., St. Pete Beach (727) 363-9238

• July 23, 10:30 a.m. – Hurricanes for Kids
  • Tarpon Springs Public Library, 138 E. Lemon St., Tarpon Springs (727) 943-4922

Residents who would like to schedule a speaker for their church, civic group or business meetings can call Pinellas County’s Speakers Bureau at (727) 464-3000. Remember, knowledge is power. No one can do anything about the weather, but by knowing what to do when bad weather threatens, residents can gain control over their personal safety.

What does THAT mean?

This month, we spend our last month with our heads in the clouds as we take a look at vertical clouds - those that don’t stay in any one particular layer of the atmosphere. There are two basic types of these clouds:

• Cumulus: These puffy, white clouds rise high into the sky, showing vertical development and clearly-defined borders. They can be found alone, in lines or in clusters and are what many people typically think of when they hear the word ‘cloud.’

• Cumulonimbus: If you’ve ever seen a thunderstorm, you know just how powerful these clouds can be. Cumulonimbus clouds can rise to tremendous heights, bringing driving rain, lightning and thunder, and strong downdraft winds. The tops of these monsters can rise as high as the tropopause (the boundary layer between the lower troposphere and the higher stratosphere). When that happens, the top of the cloud flattens out, forming an anvil-shaped top.

Why don’t these clouds stick to a defined altitude range like the high-, mid- and low- level clouds? There’s a force called convection hard at work in the atmosphere. Basically, warmer air rises. If you have ever seen a hot-air balloon rise into the sky on a cool morning, you have seen convection in action. When warm air rises into the atmosphere, it works in the same way, pushing clouds vertically.