SOON-TO-BE ISAIAS: NOW IS THE TIME TO PREPARE, NOT PANIC... I want to be very clear about something. This is not a forecast discussion. This is a preparedness discussion. There is a major difference between being scared and being prepared. Being prepared absolutely can AND WILL help you. With a potential Category 2 hurricane involved, this is the kind of situation where we need everyone to take the threat seriously, make calm decisions, and get the basics handled today or tomorrow. Please do not wait until conditions start going downhill to begin thinking about what you need to do. The best time to prepare for a hurricane is when the weather is still fine, and our weather WILL be fine through Thursday. DO NOT FOCUS ONLY ON THE CATEGORY... One of the biggest mistakes people make with hurricanes is focusing only on the category number. Yes, the category matters. A Category 2 hurricane is a serious hurricane. But the category only tells you about the sustained wind near the center of circulation. It does not tell the whole story. Flooding, tornadoes, storm surge, falling trees, power outages, and dangerous travel conditions can and will all happen well away from the exact center of the storm. You do not have to be directly in the path of the eye to have significant problems. That is why your preparedness plan should not be based on whether you are exactly on the center line. Your plan should be based on the hazards that may affect your specific area. If you're in my area in south Alabama or northwest Florida, you are near the projected path or EAST of the center. Remember, "the east is the beast and the west is the best." HAVE YOUR HURRICANE PLAN READY TODAY... Now is the time to make sure you know what you are going to do, where you are going to go if you need to leave, and how you will communicate with family members if power and cell service become unreliable. Please talk through the plan with the people around you. If you are a single person, reach out to a friend or neighbor and inform them about what you're planning to do. There's a time to be introverted, this ain't it. Check on your elderly friends and neighbors and make sure they know a storm is headed our way. Do not assume everyone knows what to do. Make sure everyone understands where your safe place is, where your supplies are, what your evacuation plan is if one becomes necessary, and how you will receive warnings Friday into Saturday. This is especially important for folks who live in mobile homes, manufactured homes, flood prone areas, low lying areas, and coastal zones. If local officials tell you to evacuate, please take that seriously and GET OUT. Evacuation orders are not issued casually. They are issued because officials believe staying in that location could become dangerous. Evacuation orders may become needed for parts of the Mississippi and/or Alabama immediate coastal zones (and flood-prone zones) in the days ahead. Depending on the exact track, Florida low-lying areas could go under an order too. CHECK YOUR SUPPLIES NOW... You do not need to buy the entire store. You do need to have enough supplies to get through a few days without power and without immediate access to normal services. Make sure you have bottled water, nonperishable food, flashlights, batteries, medications, phone chargers, power banks, pet supplies, infant/baby supplies if needed, and basic first aid items. Fill up your vehicle with gas. I did that about an hour ago since I will be in studio pretty much for the next 5 days straight. Get some cash if you can. Make sure you have important documents in a safe, dry place. Take pictures of important documents and insurance information so you have backup copies. Please also think about items that are specific to your household. If someone in your home depends on electricity for medical equipment, oxygen, refrigerated medication, or mobility support, you need a plan for that now. Do not wait until the power is out to figure that out. PREPARE FOR POWER OUTAGES... Power outages are very likely in hurricane situations. They may last hours in some areas and days in others. In some cases, restoration can take longer depending on the amount of damage. I can assure you, our friends and colleagues at our local electric cooperatives (shout out to Southern Pine and EREC for being RZW sponsors - we appreciate them!) and power companies want to get power restored quickly. CHARGE DEVICES NOW AND OVER NEXT FEW DAYS... Charge your phones, tablets, weather radios, power banks, and any other important devices over the next day or so. Turn your refrigerator and freezer to colder settings ahead of time. Have flashlights ready. Avoid candles if possible because they increase the risk of fire. Make sure you know how to manually open your garage door if the power goes out. Be careful doing this as garage doors have a powerful spring up top that can be dangerous if mishandled. GENERATOR SAFETY... If you use a generator, please use it safely. Generators should never be used inside a home, garage, porch, or enclosed space. Carbon monoxide is deadly and you cannot see it or smell it. Keep generators well away from windows, doors, and vents. SECURE THINGS OUTSIDE YOUR HOME... Loose outdoor items can become projectiles in strong winds. The greatest chance of strong winds will happen near the coast in the days ahead but even inland, in some scenarios, wind damage may be possible. Please bring in or secure patio furniture, trash cans, grills, decorations, signs, trampolines, and anything else that could blow around. CLEAN THE GUTTERS AND DRAINS IF YOU CAN... If you have time and it is safe to do so, clean out gutters and storm drains around your property. That will not stop flooding in a major rain event, but it can help reduce some localized drainage problems around your home. TRIM YOUR TREES IF YOU CAN PICK THE TRASH UP... Please do not trim large trees or create piles of debris right before a hurricane if that debris cannot be picked up before the storm. Loose limbs and debris can make things worse once the wind increases. FLOODING IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONCERNS... Freshwater flooding is a major killer in tropical systems. Please do not drive through flooded roads. It is never worth it. You do not know how deep the water is. You do not know if the road is still there underneath the water. You do not know if the water is moving faster than it appears. "Turn around, don't drown" is the phrase. If you live in a flood prone area, know where you would go and what you would do if water begins rising. Do not wait until water is at your door to begin making decisions. Have a plan now. TORNADOES HAPPEN IN HURRICANES... Tropical systems can produce tornadoes, sometimes with very little lead time. These tornadoes are often fast-moving and can happen in rain bands well away from the center of the storm. Make sure you have multiple ways to receive tornado warnings! A NOAA Weather Radio is great. Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone are important. The RedZone Weather app can help keep you informed. Do not rely on outdoor sirens as your primary warning source, especially overnight. Know where you would go if a tornado warning is issued. The lowest floor of a sturdy building, in a small interior room, away from windows, is the best place to be. Put as many walls between you and the outside as possible. PLEASE CHECK ON PEOPLE WHO MAY NEED HELP... Worth reiterating as I know I mentioned this earlier. This is a good time to check on elderly relatives, neighbors, friends, and anyone who may not be able to prepare easily on their own. Make sure they know what is happening. Make sure they have supplies. Make sure they have a way to receive warnings. Make sure they have transportation if they need to leave. Preparedness is not just about your own home. In our part of the world, we get through these events by looking out for each other. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE... The worst thing you can do is wait until the weather starts getting bad to start preparing. Once winds increase, it becomes unsafe to be outside. Once roads flood, it becomes unsafe to travel. Once power goes out, simple tasks become much more difficult. Use the time you have now wisely. WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS... Get your supplies. Review your plan. Charge your devices. Secure your property. Know where you would go. Know how you will receive warnings. Make sure your family knows the plan. Again, this is not about panic. This is about preparation. We will continue to provide updates, but the message right now is simple: please take this seriously and make sure you are ready before conditions deteriorate. Best case scenario, we hope this thing underperforms and is more of a nuisance than anything else. HOPE IS NOT A PLAN, however. If you've read this far, help me get this vital preparedness info out to others, please. You never know who lives right down the street that may learn something new that could potentially save their life. SET UP APP ALERTS… We send quite a bit of Low-Level Alerts in our RedZone Weather app. The app is totally free for you! redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you see the download links to your respective app store for iOS and for Android devices. Once you have the app downloaded to your smartphone or tablet device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me. More updates will be posted later in the RZW app. Have a good Tuesday evening!