How stupid can you be in a storm? Check out these 5 tips on avoiding the worst
One quiet South Florida hurricane season is behind us, and forecasters now say we may have a quieter one in 2026.
Are you feeling confident and complacent?
Don’t be stupid.
“It takes only one storm near you to make this an active season for you,” Colorado State University Professor Michael Bell told the Miami Herald in April.
One of the worst feelings after a hurricane comes and goes is the feeling of regret.
If only I had properly secured my windows.
If only I didn’t run that generator in my house, I might not be in a coma now.
Don’t be an if only person.
Here are a handful of tips to help you better weather a storm:
Don’t tape
Banish the word “tape” from your hurricane season preps and you’ll be a step ahead of the sorry and the wounded.
Taping your windows with X’s of masking tape doesn’t strengthen them. It’s a waste of effort, time, and tape, said Chris Landsea of the National Hurricane Center. “It offers little strength to the glass and no protection against flying debris. After the storm passes you will spend many a hot summer afternoon trying to scrape the old, baked-on tape off your windows, assuming they weren’t shattered. Once a hurricane warning has been issued you would be better off spending your time putting up shutters over doors and windows.”
Still not convinced?
Does getting filleted by deadly shards of glass figure into your summer plans? Instead of preventing glass from breaking into small fragments, tape holds fractured glass pieces together into larger, heavier, and potentially lethal projectiles.
Don’t be stupid.
Do be smart: Secure the windows with shutters, if you have them. Or put up plywood. Consider hurricane-rated windows (pricey, but if you have the means, a relief). Also, give windows a fighting chance by removing loose objects from your yard and trimming trees — the latter, ideally before hurricane season begins June 1 and not the day of a tropical storm warning.
Crack open snacks, not windows
Some people think it’s a good idea to crack open a window to relieve the pressure inside the house to keep it from expanding like a balloon and popping. Homes don’t blow up from internal pressure during a hurricane. Rather, once wind enters, it can streak upward and push your roof off the foundation, making it appear as if the house blew up from internal pressure.
Don’t be stupid.
Do be smart: Don’t let the wind enter your home. Protect all sides of your house.
Those who have been through major hurricanes may tell you of the surreal visual of watching their doors and windows bending to the pressure from the winds. In many cases they held, believe it or not. But at this point you aren’t your window’s best ally. Don’t buoy them with your body. You’re no match for nature’s fury. Get into another room, preferably a windowless room, instead.
Lanterns, not candles
Candles are lovely when you can monitor them at all times without distraction. A raging storm outside your home is a distraction. You won’t be paying attention. You may be scurrying about. Candles tip. They get knocked down. They start fires.
Don’t be stupid.
Do be smart: If the power goes out during the storm — and it probably will — battery-operated flashlights or lanterns are much safer. And you did buy enough batteries, right?
Generators on — outside
Do not run a generator from inside your house or garage — even if you have the doors and windows open, Miami-Dade County officials warn every year. Fire hazard. And you expose yourself to dying from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The same warning applies to running the generator from your balcony when you live in a multi-unit building like an apartment or town house. Balconies are too close to your own living areas and to your neighbors’ homes.
Don’t be stupid.
Do be smart: Run the generator outside. But never run a generator on grass. Sparks equal fire hazard. And don’t run it on a metal surface. Shocker. Metal conducts electricity. Make sure the surface is dry before starting your generator, and keep your hands dry, too.
Don’t be impatient
Avoid the temptation to venture outdoors during the calm in the eye of the storm, the National Hurricane Center warns. We know you want to take selfies and socialize and see what just happened — but wait until meteorologists inform that the storm is really over in your area. That lull is deceptive and even stronger winds can quickly resume.
Don’t be stupid.
Do be smart: Take shelter immediately as winds will increase rapidly and unpredictably after the eye passes. Drive only if you have to because roads without stoplights and covered with debris or water can be deadly. Our drivers, even in nice weather, are not the best.
If there is a mandatory evacuation order where you live, make plans so you know where to go — and get out when the getting’s good. If you have pets and are considering a shelter, make sure you find one that allows pets, or have a pet plan ahead of time, suggests Florida Disaster.Org, a division of emergency management.
