Important Hurricane Terms
Before a Hurricane Threat
If Jacksonville is Placed Under Hurricane Watch
If Jacksonville is Placed Under Hurricane Warning

Important hurricane terms

Tropical Disturbance: An area of thunderstorms in the tropics that maintain its identity for at least 24 hours. A very common phenomenon in the tropics.

Tropical Depression: An organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined circulation and maximum sustained surface winds of 38 mph or less.

Tropical Storm: An organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined circulation and maximum sustained surface winds of 39 to 73 mph.

Tropical Storm Watch: Tropical storm conditions are POSSIBLE in the specified area of the watch, usually within 36 hours.

Tropical Storm Warning: Tropical storm conditions are EXPECTED in the specified area of the warning, usually within 24 hours.

Hurricane: An intense tropical system with a well defined circulation and maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or greater.

Hurricane Watch: Hurricane conditions are POSSIBLE in the specified area of the Watch, usually within 36 hours.

Hurricane Warning: Hurricane conditions are EXPECTED in the specified area of the Warning, usually within 24 hours.

Small Craft Advisory: When a hurricane moves within a few hundred miles off the coast, small-craft owners should not venture out into the open ocean.

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Before a Hurricane Threat

Refer to the Hurricane Evacuation Map. Locate where you live and your evacuation level.

Determine if, when, and by what route you would have to evacuate. REMEMBER: All mobile home residents must evacuate, regardless of location.

Decide now where you would go if ordered to evacuate (a friend or relative, hotel or motel , out of the region, or, as a last resort, to a public shelter). Remember, if you are going to leave the region or go to a motel, you must leave early. Determine your route before you leave.

Put together your disaster supplies kit.

Keep your home in good repair. Tack down loose roofing and siding. Trim dead broken limbs from trees.

Make minor improvements, such as bracing the gable ends of roofs, needed to make your home safer. Contract a professional engineer, licensed contractor, or architect to inspect your home for structural integrity.

Make plans to buy materials to protect your home before a storm threatens (plywood, shutters, protective window film, nails, etc.).

Purchase a battery powered weather alert radio.

Inventory your property (a video tape is excellent). Store with insurance papers and other important papers in a safe place or send a copy to a relative out of the area.

Make sure your address is clearly marked on your house.

Whether you rent or own your home, review your insurance policies with your agent now.

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If Jacksonville/Duval County is placed under a Hurricane Watch by the National Hurricane Center:

Listen for weather updates on local stations and on NOAA Weather Radio. Don't trust rumors, and stay tuned to the latest information.

Review your disaster plans with your family. If you don't have one, make one.

Check your Disaster Supplies Kit. Obtain any needed items.

Gather important papers (insurance, titles, deeds, birth certificates, pet vaccination records, prescriptions, etc.). Any valuable or irreplaceable objects (family photos, memorabilia, etc.) That can not be evacuated should be placed in watertight containers or sealed in plastic bags.

Refill prescriptions and obtain an adequate (two week minimum) supply of baby food, diapers, and sanitary needs. Maintain at least a two week supply of these items and non-perishable food during hurricane season. Make sure you have a manual can-opener.

Clear yard of potential flying debris, e.g. lawn furniture, potted plants, bicycles and trash cans.

Protect your windows and glass doors. Brace double entry and garage doors at the top and bottom. If you have hurricane shutters, make sure they are working and that you have the material to install them.

Fill your car's gas tank and check oil, water, and tires. Gas pumps don't operate without electricity.

Secure or evacuate your boat early. Some drawbridges (Fuller Warren, Beach Blvd. at Inter-Coastal Waterway, Ortega River, Heckscher Drive) on evacuation routes will be locked down and closed to boat traffic after an evacuation order is ordered.

Leave your swimming pool filled and super-chlorinated. Cover your filtration system.

Get cash. Banks and ATMs will not operate without electricity and few stores will be able to accept credit cards.

Animal owners should make any special preparations for evacuation or care that their particular animal may require. Remember that pets are not allowed in American Red Cross shelters. Pets should be evacuated with their owners or boarded at a Veterinarian with adequate facilities. Large and exotic animals should be evacuated early, out of the threatened area.

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If Jacksonville/Duval County is placed under a Hurricane Warning by the National Hurricane Center, evacuate if your live in the following:

An area that will be subjected to storm-surge.

A mobile home or substandard house.

If you live in an area that has suffered from repeated flooding in the past.

Take your Hurricane Survival Kit with you.

Take your important papers and other needed materials with you.

Let friends or family know where you are going. Check with your neighbors to see if they need assistance, or a ride.

Turn off your electricity, gas, and water at their main switches or valves. Do not attempt to turn off gas at a meter.

Put up your storm shutters and lock your doors and windows. If you are outside of the evacuation area and do not live in a mobile home...

Make sure your doors and windows are protected.

Clean containers for drinking water and your bathtub for storing cleaning water. Plan on three gallons of water a day per person. Remember that public utilities can be lost for weeks following a hurricane.

Open your home as a shelter to friends and relatives who live in vulnerable areas or mobile homes.

During the storm, stay inside and away from windows, skylights and glass doors. Find a safe area in your home - an interior, reinforced room, closet or bathroom on the lower floor.

If you lose power, turn off your major appliances, such as your air conditioner and hot water heater to reduce damage.

If flooding threatens your home, turn off the electricity at the main fuse box.

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