Spring officially starts in less than a month, but you wouldn’t know from by looking at the weather across the U.S. and reading predicted forecasts.
Northwest
Snow is falling over parts of the Northwest and northern Rockies that generally do not see snow this late in the winter season. For example, the forecast predicts up to four inches of snowfall in the Seattle, WA and Portland, OR area. Residents in the Northwest are going to have to put off their spring-cleaning for another day and, in the mean time, make sure their plumbing is insulated well to prevent burst pipes and water damage.
South
As the South battles wildfires with their neighboring Eastern states, The Weather Channel predicts a severe storm outbreak in the Dixie Valley—parts of the Southern Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley. Meteorologist Dr. Greg Forbes expects the storms to begin as early as Thursday. Residents in this area can expect to see floods, large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes.
Those living in this area should prepare emergency disaster kits that contain the phone numbers of their insurance agents and a restorationspecialist. Residents should also be ready to evacuate their homes if directed by emergency personnel.
East
Not getting any breaks from Mother Nature, the Eastern states continue to battle wildfires. Residents are on alert in many communities, and are prepared to evacuate their homes. The low humidity and winds continue to fuel the fires, and this is not expected to change in the immediate future. Like those in the South, residents who are a wildfire should prepare an emergency disaster kit. Learn how to prepare for fire damage.
The beginning of summer for residents in areas frequented by natural disasters means it is time to start preparing for what may come. Summertime marks the beginning of wildfires and hurricane season. The National Disaster Education Coalition states every person, no matter where they live, should learn what disasters could impact their area(natural and man-made), make an emergency disaster plan, create a list of emergency contacts, make sure they are properly insured and have a pre-made disaster kit.
Summertime Natural Disasters
The most notable natural disasters during the summer months are wildfires and hurricanes. Although experts predict a typical wildfire season this summer, the “Jackson County Floridian” states NOAA weather and emergency management experts expect an active hurricane season with at least five Category 3 storms. The warning prompted Governor Charlie Crist of Florida to write a note to the state’s citizens reminding them to prepare for hurricanes in advance and make sure they have adequate flood insurance coverage now.
Be Prepared for a Hurricane
Being prepared is not expensive and can actually save you money in the end because emergency supplies such as food and water can cost more before, during and after a disaster because they will be in high demand.
The National Hurricane Center encourages you to know and do the following in the event of any type of emergency:
The safest rooms in your home
Know the escape routes out of your home, city, county and state
Appoint a person to be single point of contact that everyone can call in the event of an emergency. This person should not live in the same state as you.
Know what you are going to do with your pets in the event of a disaster
Post emergency numbers near home phones and teach your children how to call 911
Homeowners in southern California have to deal with the restoration of their homes and property after wildfires had no mercy this summer. As a result, many homeowners were left uninsured as their insurance companies cancelled homeowners policies, deeming the home was in an area considered to too high of a risk.
Risky Business
Homes in the area of this summer’s Station fire now have to face the possibility of mudslides within the next 12 months. The fires burned the hills surrounding homes to the point that the ground is now unreliably unstable. If the summer fires did not wipe a home out, insurance carriers fear a mudslide will-causing insurance companies to suffer more substantial losses.
Residents in Southland have tried to buy mudslide insurance policies from several different agencies without any luck. Insurance companies are still licking their wounds from having to pay out claims from this fire season and cannot afford to pay for more losses.
Since mudslide riders for a homeowners policy are not popularly available, people are starting to get creative and are purchasing earthquake, flood, and wildfire riders to add on to their home’s insurance. They are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping they have enough of the appropriate coverage if the unthinkable happens.
The National Weather Service has issued fire warnings in several cities in northern Texas. These cities include Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco.
Low humidity and high winds are the cause of the recent alert. The alert will most likely be in effect until Wednesday, which is when winds are expected to die down.
The National Weather Service issued the following statement:
“SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL RETURN TO NORTH TEXAS TONIGHT AND INCREASE QUICKLY ON TUESDAY. WIND SPEEDS WILL RANGE FROM 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH FROM LATE MORNING TUESDAY THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL ALSO FALL BELOW 30 PERCENT ON TUESDAY. THE WINDY AND DRY CONDITIONS WILL CREATE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS ALL OF NORTH TEXAS…
…A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND DRY VEGETATION WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL. AVOID ALL OUTSIDE BURNING AND WELDING TODAY. DO NOT TOSS LIT CIGARETTE BUTTS OUTSIDE. REPORT WILD FIRES TO THE NEAREST FIRE DEPARTMENT OR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICE.”
The cities of Montecito and Santa Barbara have once again been devastated by wildfires that broke out on Thursday evening. By morning, hundreds of homes and parts of a college campus in Montecito have been destroyed. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for Santa Barbara County today.
The biggest obstacle in this firefight is the wind. “Sundowner” winds that blow from land to sea gusted up to 70 mph last night, which fed and spread the new flames. Santa Ana winds are expected to pick up today, which has fire fighters concerned. Santa Barbara City Fire Chief, Ron Prince, reported to Thomas Watkins of the Associated Press: “We’re going to have a very, very tough day today for firefighting and when the winds kick up this afternoon, we’re going to have an incredibly challenging situation…Control of this fire is not even in sight.” Over 500 firefighters are working to calm the wildfire today.
Medland talked about how she wishes she had a “Disaster Go Bag” made and was more prepared. Check out these suggestions so you can make your own emergency kit.
