I live in areas with severe thunderstorms and flash floods, so I do see a certain amount of stupid behavior from people who are new to the area.

do this one and expect to be rescued

most common along the Atlantic coast, which only has a handful of half-decent surf breaks..

I managed to get out during Agnes in '72 and Alberto in '82. Also was racing a 25' sailboat during Elena in '85.

I remember during that superstorm in 1991 that Chuck Muir, a prominent Michigan restraunteur, got caught up in that storm. Nobody on the sailboat was ever seen again.

Race went down Tampa Bay and back, with the storm stalled 100 miles away. We only saw 45 knots of wind, and were in somewhat protected waters. Smallest boat in race, but we won. We knew what we were doing.
Surfing, you don't surf during the height of the storm, too choppy. Waves start building up a day or two in advance, not much wind then, nice and glassy.

And lived to tell the tale! Tropical storms kick up some of the best waves, if you're strong enough to paddle out through the chop.

We get this all of the time! I live in the flash flood capitol and let me tell you every damn time there is some idiot that goes beyond the crossing and gets stuck and has to be rescued!

If you drive across a flooded wash and have to be rescued, you have to pay the cost for the rescue.

... was damned impressive. The first flood that happened after they moved there filled the whole wash to the top and over the road, shifting boulders the size of VWs out of the mountains and on through. Bunch of youngsters from the neighborhood went to the end of the street to watch the show, and some idiot decided to drive around the Road Closed sign -- Mom said all the kids were screaming "Don't do it mister!" But he did, and over he went, with all that roaring water and those boulders landing on top of him and his car. There was no rescue from that, just retrieval much much later.

and I've seen some idiots get a marginal passing grade.
I was backing away from one crossing when some fool came up to from the other side and started across. He got a little over halfway when the current started to shove the rear end of his truck sideways. Luckily he got enough traction to pull out. If he had gone in I would have just waved bye.

1. Go out driving during a snowstorm. Just because you have a 4 Wheel drive doesn't mean your vehicle belongs on the road. STAY HOME. If it's a medical emergency call an ambulance.

2. Go walking along the waters edge on an ocean beach right before/during/after a hurricane or tropical storm. Waves can surge and suck you out to sea in a blink of an eye. Stay well away from the water's edge.

There's a Far Side comic to that effect, but I can't seem to find it....

not to mention critters trying to escape said deluge are there, too, and you look like a meal or a life raft.

I mean.. which is more important to you, not driving into a flooded roadway, or not sheltering under a tree during a storm?

Every single year people die from lightning strikes while supposedly sheltering under a tree during a storm.

during a thunderstorm.

In 1991 the U.S. Open PGA tourney was held just outside the Twin Cities and a thunder/lighting storm came though during play. A man was killed by lightning because he stood under a large tree. People standing nearby were thrown off their feet but survived.

during storms than driving through flood water.

how crazy people get when it rains and the roads flood. I would have thought it was common sense, but apparently, it is not. Add a foot or two of water, and at least 5% of the population suddenly loses every marble they have ever had.

Maybe a whether I should do something really really stupid not the other weather

when NOT in a weather disaster!

touche!

I cannot understand why I've seen schools close recently for a tornado warning. Schools are probably safer than most homes, and much safer than a car if the storm hits on the drive home.

Oh my heavens, doesn't everyone know that one? No, I had to rescue a friend that drove her car through a street where ... you guessed it, she couldn't tell how deep the water was and flooded her car past the seats.

Folks, if it is raining, do not play around if you have no idea how deep the water is - it can fool you!

If you live in an area prone to severe weather, why not add storm shutters instead of nailing plywood up every time?

we create them, and when a storm is coming, we nail them in, because we don't get mild wind and rain like 90 mph. We get sustained 100+mph winds and you have to nail it in so that it doesn't blow away and fly into the neighbor's house.

I have wood coverings with markings according to window that have lasted for six hurricanes. The second to last one was Katrina. I have Isaac, and plenty of others.

My suggestion is that people that don't live in hurricane territory not offer advice to people that have lived there for decades. If I sound indignant, it is because I am. A hurricane is not a tornado. You wouldn't box up your own home in the case of a tornado maybe striking it, or an earthquake, either.

If you don't live on the Coast, you probably don't know what we all do since we have been here throughout a bunch of them. But thanks for your input, since it was incredibly helpful, condescending and none of us have ever thought of that before!

Don't be a jerk. I only wondered why more permanent shutters, especially on business with large glass areas weren't installed. Oh and maybe you should use screws instead of nails. Another condescending tip.

you would know exactly why you use nails instead of screws. LOL.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, just pointing out that when there are situations where you don't get it, it is best to not offer "advice" to folks that are there.

I've been through enough of them, and I have had a belly full of people that condescend and tell us we should live elsewhere, it is all of our fault for living here and the like.

I don't tell people in California to stop living there because of earthquakes and wildfires - I'd appreciate it if people quit telling people that live on the coast that we are doomed because we live here.

a question for a Florida resident. It seems that I see people on TV flocking to The Home Depot to buy plywood just prior to a hurricane hitting landfall. Why not save the plywood from the last hurricane?

(Reading your posts it appears that is what you do, I'm just wondering about what I have seen on television.)

I can think of several reasons, though you'd probably have to stop random people and ask them why they are buying new plywood instead of using previous sheets to get accurate reasons.

1) because some people just don't think of it. They think because they don't get storms hitting where they live every single year that there's no reason to keep that wood for just that purpose. They'll end up building something else with it later, and then have to go back to the lumberyard again next storm. And probably never even think "Maybe I should have kept those other boards from the last storm..."

2) People new to the area in either new homes, or homes where the previous owner didn't leave the already prepared boards behind when they moved (they got tossed out with all the other detritus of moving day, or the realtor threw them out.)

3) Similar to #2 but not new to the area, just moved into a new place with no pre-existing boards to use.

4) unmitigated panic, partly caused by equally unmitigated local fear-mongering news stations

I am lucky enough that I do have the storage space. If you don't though, you can always rent a little garage at one of the storage places. They aren't expensive.

You know you are going to get hit with a hurricane one day or another, so you prepare for it. I don't consider $14 a month where I can also store tools and other things that I need occasionally a bad deal. I already have a storage shed, though.

We didn't put up protection for Sandy. The last time we put up shutters was Ivan 2004.

Additionally lots of new folks move into communities between hurricanes.

I made an observation and asked a question. I didn't tell anyone what to do or where to live. You read a lot into that. I have lived through several hurricanes and worked in flood recovery with HUD. So why would nailing the same piece of plywood over and over be more secure than using screws? I would think if you reused the same nail holes, it wouldn't be as secure. And if you used a different spot every time, sooner or later you'd run out of places to nail or at the least make a mess of your window frame or siding.

Bless you, and I hope you have a nice day.

Also some of the comments I see make the case for permanent shutters. But I wouldn't tell someone to do that. You don't have to bless me and I will have a nice day without you telling me to have one.

Screws used to be significantly more difficult to install, especially if they were long enough to actually do the job. You had to pre-drill to have any chance of installing the screw with a screwdriver.

Meanwhile, nails were very fast and easy to install. So they used nails.

Impact drivers make installing screws trivial, and screws hold better than nails. So it makes sense to switch. But that's not the way it's always been, so there's resistance.

It will deteriorate around the nail holes. Whereas with screws you could use a large washer and extend the life of the plywood for quite some time. Anyway, I would hope they use double headed nails to extend the life of the plywood and make it a cinch to remove, but I'm not saying they should. It's a free country for now.

Sort of reinforces my thoughts. I built my own home 32 years ago. If I was doing it today, there would be a lot more screws in it instead of nails. I hope a few people who see this article are open to practical advice.

Now,

The REAL reason you would want to use nails is that they aren't as brittle as screws, screws break off easy. Of course if you are in a hurricane that has the power to snap screws your house is probably, well, screwed anyway

and I've lived on the Gulf Coast all of my life.

5. Board up windows during the storm.

So, I have to ask those of y'all on the upper East Coast: Is this something that happened when Irene and Sandy were bearing down, or people were attempting to do after the storms had already made landfall? I can understand people making that kind of mistake when they've never had to deal with hurricanes on an annual basis like the rest of us down here, so if anyone has any insight, I'd love to hear it

That is one area totally not used to being prepared for a hurricane.
I tried to tell people not to take it lightly, but if people haven't been through one, they really don 't understand.

I live in SC and there are many newcomers who have not gone through a major storm. They think people who have are exaggerating. A lot of people made that mistake with Hugo and they will never make it again. You simply cannot convince a lot of people and they have to live through one, hopefully live.

I have a cousin who moved to Myrtle Beach in the early 1990s. She has experienced glancing blows from hurricanes and she thinks she is an expert.

She told me he had one tree to worry about during a storm. She has a brazillion trees in her yard not to mention those just off her property. I asked her why she thought only one tree was dangerous. She informed me that she had observed which way the wind blew and it was the only one that was a danger to fall and hit her house.

I told her that the wind changes depending on what section of the storm you were in. I also told her that those winds would snatch trees out of the ground and launch them gawd knows where. She waved me off.

Then she informed me she wouldn't evacuate because more damage was done inland. I gave her the side-eye and asked where she got that fun fact. It was from her observations of Hugo. Never mind that the coast got beaten to death by water and wind. She lives across a Highway 17 and I told her that it wasn't a wall.

My mother called her a damn fool and my mother was loathe to criticize relatives.

I think one reason why I've never heard of anyone boarding up after the storm has made landfall is that they didn't survive it, and so, did not "live to tell the tale."

Now, I have known people I'd call even stupider that would drive out into a full-force hurricane (some would take walks in it.) I guess the complete power of their stupidity kept them alive, but why risk getting a traffic signal light thrown at you? Not to mention other lighter, yet equally deadly, debris?

Hurricanes also spawn tornadoes, dozens or more at a time. It's a massive storm that you simply don't want to mess with.

I do put some of the blame on how the local news stations report on hurricanes, though. I'd watch a station 24/7 if they scaled back the fear-mongering and genuinely reported in an educating and informational style, with an emphasis on just how dangerous these storms truly are. It can be done without scaring people into a panic.

I hope your cousin has learned a little more since Hugo, and at least gets some advice from a tree expert on which trees to cut or trim.

everywhere. I've seen people boarding up during a hurricane lull back in 1988 (Gilbert).

Seems like a lot of people see storms as a time to get drunk. Last thing you want to be is wasted if there's a real emergency.

I was familiar with all those, except number 1! I remember seeing "survivor stories" about people who took shelter under the overpasses, up in the beams, during a tornado and survived and always thought I'd do the same if placed in the same position. Now I know better! They should publicize that more in case other like me are misinformed due to some fluke story about one group of survivors giving people the WRONG idea about what to do.