Hurricane Harbor: Are You Worried on Hurricane Season is 37 Days Away? Questions on NHC and NWS and $$$........My Thoughts. Know YOUR Dangers (Do You NEED to Evacuate?) Are You Prepare? Do You Have a Hurricane Kit?

If you know you know...

... I know DaBuh from way back.

Good info, good music... always a smile!

It's 37 days til the Atlantic Hurricane Season.

Let me say that again...

It's a month and a week.

2025 time moves fast.

Zoom, zoom, zooooom!

I try very hard on X to walk the line and be very careful of getting involved in political drama and it's 2025 so that ain't easy and everyone wants everyone to take a side and plant their flag. My messages here are not political as they muddy the message for many and if I wanted to do a political blog I would not be BobbiStorm. That said I studied meteorology and geology and oceanography for my degree in International Relations and I have many opinions that I keep to myself.

I have one message here. 1 message. It's a little over 30 days until the Hurricane Season so what have YOU done to prepare your home, your family and any thing or anyone you love to make it through the nasty, mean months of 2025?? Hurricanes can come early and some even have done so in May so you may want to really stop, think and get a clue. Old timers here I know ...know. Newbies to South Florida or Coastal Texas all think it's sunshine and sand and surf and yet they have never seen a storm surge nor have they prepared their homes on the water for the inevitable rising tide of a Hurricane's Storm Surge.

Many have asked me online or privately what I think about the 2025 Hurricane Season and with budget cuts will they (NHC) be able to do their job? The short of my answer is "yes" I do believe they will do a good, accurate job and it's important to remember that not all the money spent at NHC is for "making a Cone" properly. It's a huge part of their jobs collectively but there are many projects and programs that the NHC works on all year and they are all important.... you just rarely hear about them. And, as someone like me that has spent time with forecasters and others who work at NHC and AOML and many in the highest positions the one commonality I've always heard is how being in the top role you have to spend so much time asking for more money, a bigger budget and those financial squabbles are always distracting and yet important. I heard this in years that blue politicians were in control and when red politicians were in control.... they always want and need more money and it's not an easy job. I'd even add that it's way easier putting out a Cone and updating an Advisory with a new cone and discussion than it is dealing with the government trying to get more money and for larger budget let alone money that's been cut.

The NHC forecasters always do their best. The NHC researchers always do their best. The NHC Librarians try the best they can and that's not always easy as research materials often leaves the library; as a librarian myself I can tell you that makes librarians go bat shit crazy but it happens. As a sidebar, and I know this is true and I watched a Director of a city library go bat shit crazy insisting no one is to order any more of "them" because the them was bibles. The Bible is believe it or not the most stolen book in most libraries.

Moving on ............what makes me go bat shit crazy? What am I worried on this Hurricane Season? I'm worried that people go to the proper, correct sources to get the best info vs things they "hear" or "see" online.

When the NHC with lots of money, or not enough money (always asking for more money) puts out an incredible forecast with a spot on Cone and valuable advisories with discussion anyone can read ....I often get asked questions about some psychic who said a Cat 5 is about to hit Miami on TicToc and "why shouldn't I believe them as it's been a bad hurricane season" and when I try to explain IF a Major Hurricane of any kind forms it's going to be a problem for someone in the Gulf and more likely Texas to Louisiana. Apparently the Weather Psychic doesn't check the water vapor loop nor the models nor history of hurricanes when making predictions. And, yet.......I know people who in general are logical who believe a weather psychic or some kid with a whole entertaining routine on TicToc or YouTube more than they do the folks at the NHC that have spent their lives working, studying and tracking hurricanes. And, I will add local TV stations do stories about the "weather psychic" everyone is watching it doesn't help matters.

And the problem with YT and TicToc is that once you click on one .... you'll be offered a whole array of various psychics some who use Tarot Cards some who use astrological aspects and some who have a "spirit" that tells them things and seems tropically obsessed and warns which coastal city will be smashed by a Cat 5 Hurricane (it's always a Cat 5 not a Cat 4) and for the next week your algorithms will all offer you beautiful videos with computer generated voices that warn you about some hurricane that will strike some famous city on some important holiday weekend! Note NONE of them said nothing about Asheville specifically.... not that I'm aware of as no one asked me on X or in a WhatsApp message. I know it's hard for the NHC YouTube videos to compete with those incredible colored maps and special effects and the very sexy voice that explains slowly how your city will be destroyed in 3 days from a Cat 5 Hurricane. Sigh.......

Lord have mercy. Yes, I do believe in the Lord and no I am not discussing religion here neither.

I worry more that the general public will ignore discussion, watches and Cones until they are directly in the cone "for sure" after a Hurricane Warning has been issued and a third of South Florida is already on I75 headed to Atlanta. By the way, there is no logical reason anyone has to go all the way to Atlanta vs 'inland" somewhere such as Orlando or Ocala to a strong hotel and then ONLY if you live in an area where you have been told to evacuate.

But hey.........it's easier to get a third of South Florida or Coastal Texas or NC on the road headed inland than it is getting them to be properly prepared in May to ride out a hurricane in July when they will possibly lose their electric.

Less people are online currently searching for a generator they can afford than are shopping and hording non-perishable foods because some YT video told them there will be "Civil Unrest" and there is an Eclipse coming that will change the way we all............

I am not kidding. I'm serious. I trust the NHC to do their best even in difficult circumstances. I don't trust everyone in the general public to pay attention to them and I say this from past experience.

So yes money is always a problem and cut budgets call for a realignment of priorities and schedules and Lord only knows what they are doing but I am SURE....100% SURE the NHC and AOML and local NWS offices are doing the best they can to get out accurate forecasts for hurricane season. What I am not as sure about is whether or not anyone is paying attention to the NHC specifically vs the TicToc Psychic or the kid with the shtick who gets more hits than some of the best tropical meteorologists I know and I know many. And, I know sadly that until the weather begins to change and people wonder why their neighbors are packing up the car and there's no food left at Publix some ...especially newbies from somewhere Up North and Inland .....they wasted time ignoring messages about hurricane season.

Lastly 2 stories:

I was talking with Bill Read at at NHC program about the dangers of people taking inland flooding seriously. We were also talking about how those who do not need to evacuate often rush to do so making traffic worse for those who do need to evacuate. His example was that in Texas prior to Rita everyone watched their neighbors pack up the car and often changed their minds and also decided they needed to hit the road even though they were in an area that did not call for evacuations. And, granted it was 2005 and people suddenly were paying attention to the dangers of Hurricane Season. He said he had discussed it with his wife and neighbors. She called back a few times to tell him neighbors who insisted they were staying were packing up their cars and leaving. Well, when there's a hurricane and a cone especially in the year of Katrina suddenly everyone is cautious and paying attention. Ps Bill Read is a wonderful man and meteorologist who I'd guess knows how hard it is to be head of the NHC dealing with budget matters as well as getting the word out on the details.

Rita is known for the traffic jams sadly more than what happened.

2. One of the librarians who had moved to Miami from New York City who worked part time on the Reference Desk with me was totally clueless and not worried on Hurricanes when she moved to the tropical paradise. Note everyone in the library was overly exhausted from the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 yet she seemed totally oblivious to these dangers. When we were shutting down the library for the hurricane she wasn't worried. We were closed for weeks at a time that year, weeks in a month and that upset part time employees that didn't get paid for that time the library was closed. After we opened up the library again she came back to work and told us of her horrifying experience. She lived in an area where there were many apartments and stores and restaurants. Apparently the morning after the Hurricane without power she wasn't worried, she walked down the stairs in the building, down to the street... walked over downed palm fronds and made it past any downed electric lines alive and when she got to the restaurants that she usually went to for breakfast they were closed she freaked out. Closed!!! "Oh my God" she said........ I told her their was a hurricane and she responded in Manhanttan the coffee places are ALWAYS open. I stared, trying to breathe and not lose it and again said "they had no power, they were closed" and I asked "didn't you prepare at all" and her response was "I had snacks but I knew I could go get coffee if my power was out........." (she knew wrong)

I'll add Sue who worked with me said to her: "Don't you read Bobbi's blog??" which made me giggle but after I talked on where I thought Hurricane Charley would "turn in towards landfall" and I was right, Sue thought I was her personal Weather Guru or something :) Seriously......

I'll just leave it there and I did not make up one detail. Seriously???? That was when I really understood that in order to prepare people you have to think like the person who thinks they will be "fine fine fine" and sadly that's a whole lot of people. Well, until they go through a hurricane and then they read my blog or Dabuh's every post and suddenly spend all day on Mike's Weather Page and follow his every word on the daily videos. That's why so many people follow Mike, not because he gives pyschic messages from his dead Great Aunt nor does he explain how he hyst knows a Cat 5 Hurricane will hit Miami or New Orleans in 5 days even though there is no hurricane forming. Mike gives good solid formation!

The NHC does the best job to track hurricanes that they can even today in 2025 when they can still be unpredictable at times.

If you are truly worried on this topic and have an opinion reach out to your local Congresspeople and Senators and give them your thoughts, concerns and opinions. You don't have to fight with every cousin or old friend on Facebook who doesn't agree with you politically. Write your local representatives. I know in NC I get letters from various Senators asking for my thoughts on their involvement on specific issues. They want to hear from you. It's the best place to use your voice. It's more productive then arguing with your cousin two times removed on Facebook or Insta.

As for the 2025 Hurricane Season use the links on the top right and look into getting a Firman Generator. Or go on Amazon and watch sales for hurricane kits and supplies.

Always use the link below.

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Links for info to prepare for Hurricane Season.

https://www.noaa.gov/hurricane-prep

Remember.......Starbucks will be closed if the power is out.

And their employees cannot work in a hurricane.

Sorry but true.

I buy cans of Espresso personally.

Even not cold they are awesome!