# 3630
This morning, the National Hurricane Center in Miami named the first tropical storm of the season. It is way too soon to even begin to guess where Ana may land – assuming it doesn’t become a `fish’ and turn north into the Atlantic to eventually die out over the colder waters.
Early models, however, have it approaching the South Eastern United States next week.
This far out, early models are often wrong.
So this morning, I thought I’d share a few Hurricane resources I use on the net. These are good places to get the most up to date information, and some highly informed speculation, about where these storms might go.
First, is the National Hurricane Center. Atlantic and Gulf hurricane information is updated 4 times each day, with minor updates issued every 2 hours when a storm approaches land.
This morning’s (8/15/09) NHC from page showing Ana, an area of suspicion over Cuba, and a much bigger (and more viable) area of disturbed weather trailing behind Ana.
You’ll find that this time of year, conditions in the tropics can change in a matter of hours. Living in Florida, I check the NHC site twice a day from about August through October.
The second stop on my Hurricane Hit parade is Hurricane City, which is run by Jim Williams, who when he isn’t working his day job, runs one of the best Hurricane sites on the net. He broadcasts from a home brew TV studio live webcasts when storms are approaching the coastline, and maintains one of the best resources on the net.
For informed speculation, you may wish to visit their Hurricane Forum. It is visited by many folks who are very well versed in hurricane tracking.
HOWEVER, you should rely on official information coming out of the NHC and local emergency officials when making decisions about evacuations or preparing for a storm.
Tracking map on Hurricane City at 8am EDT (8/15/09)
And lastly, for a one-stop-resource center I usually jump to Mike’s Weather Page (no relation), where I can find most of the updates, maps, and radar feeds I’m interested in all on one page.
If Ana should threaten the US mainland, that probably won’t happen until late next week. There is still plenty of time to prepare.
Your first stop should be FEMA’s 2009 Hurricane Page.
You’ll find other important preparedness information at READY.GOV’s Hurricane Preparedness page
If you have a family emergency plan, now is the time to review it. If you don’t have one, better make one today. `Bug out’ or `To Go’ bags are essential, no matter where you live. And of course, you need to make sure you have food, water, batteries, and a portable radio.
If you don’t live in Hurricane Country, you probably live in an earthquake zone, or an area susceptible to tornadoes, floods, or fires. Good enough reasons to take preparing seriously.
Remember, preparing is easy. Worrying is hard.
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