A big part of preparing and dealing with hurricane threats is having the best information, so you can make informed decisions. I decided to concentrate on three subjects on many people’s minds in tonight’s post:
Dorian Relief for Bahamas
Hurricane Dorian has been blasting the Bahamas for an unbelievable amount of time. This storm has been so strong, moved so slowly, and is now sitting motionless over the Bahamas… it will be many days before we know the extent of the damage there.
My daughter Brenna made a great suggestion … that I use the HunkerDown.Guide website to post organizations that are going to go into the Bahamas and do real recovery and rescue work. I have found the following sites that you can look over and help you decide how you can best help our neighbors in the Bahamas.
- The Bahamas Red Cross – https://bahamasredcross.org/ – They are right there and are seeking donations even now.
- The International Medical Corps – https://give.internationalmedicalcorps.org – They will get medical care and supplies there ASAP.
- Good360 – https://good360.org/ – They partner with companies to source highly needed goods and distribute them through a network of nonprofits that support people in need.
We all need help sometime. When we are spared, it is time for us to step up and help other less fortunate. If you can’t send money or supplies, please send your thoughts and prayers.
Evacuation Info for Coastal States
If you are in a mandatory evacuation zone and are getting orders to leave, then by all means follow the official guidance. If you are not in a mandatory zone but live in an area threatened by the hurricane and you are not sure if you should leave or not, I have written a section to help people think thru this personal evacuation decision.
My mother, sister, and brother-in-law are actually going to follow the mandatory evacuation in Murrells Inlet, SC. Basically the whole coast line up there is under threat.
If you need info from official sources on coastal evacuations for specific states, see our list of evacuation zones and maps.
The Weather Sites I Personally Use
I have a weather summary page called the Tropical Weather Briefing on the site that I use to collect the latest maps, forecast and other info. Below I am listing the links that I visit the most often to get the latest tropical weather information and forecasts. Watching the mainstream news can be very frustrating because they often hyper focus on the threats and destruction, but give little practical guidance. The sites below have the ones that I have found to give the most rational weather info with the least amount of stress.
National Hurricane Center – Official forecasts
Tropical Tidbits blog (and videos) – Levi Cowen explains the global and big picture weather patterns and fronts that steer these massive storms. This is actually very calming, as he doesn’t hype up what is happening. He posts to the blog and also has great videos explaining active tropical forecasts on his Tropical Tidbits YouTube channel as well.
Mike’s Weather Page – This website packs a tremendous amount of tropical weather maps, satellite imagery, and radar data. Mike is also from Florida, though we have not yet met. I follow his blog almost every day.
South Florida Water Management District model map – other high quality maps
Tropicals Tidbits GFS model – map is in a player to show potential paths of storms
Tropical Tidbits ECMWF model – map of this top European model also in a player
NASA Hurricane & Typhoon Blog – A scientific spin on the latest storms. No Hype. Often has the latest in remote sensing.
Everyone please stay safe!
Jamie
