(May 25th, 2017)  Next Thursday June 1st starts the beginning of the Atlantic Hurricane Season which lasts through November 30th, 2017. With that today NOAA issued their predictions for this years hurricane season and they are predicting an above normal season with 11 to 17 named storms due in part to a weak or non-existent El Nino. You can read the entire press release by following this link http://www.noaa.gov/…/above-normal-atlantic-hurricane-seaso… ,

What should we do as residents living at the Jersey Shore. The first thing to do is visit the hurricane preparedness links on the Ready.northwildwood.com website.   After learning what you need to do then conduct what we call a gap analysis by making a list what you already have in place and then comparing them to what is suggested and find the differences. Next you work towards filling the gap between where you are and where you should be. This doesn’t have be a burdensome task if you plan it properly. First do the things which need no funding – for example, making lists for evacuation, family notifications, or what to move from harms way. Then as funds come available build up food and water stocks or perhaps purchase boots or foul weather gear.

Lastly, everyone should look back at previous storms and their effect on their properties and do what we call damage mitigation, which is basically fixing or modifying something to reduce additional damages. A major example of mitigation is raising your house above flood levels however not everyone can afford that or needs to do that. The mitigation I am referring to is for example building shelves to raise everything on your garage floor above the flood level so you don’t have to raise items every time a flood is predicted or having rope to tie down your lawn furniture or trash cans that you can’t put inside so they don’t blow around  and break windows or damage your house. Look back at what you fixed or cleaned up after the last major event and explore what you can do to limit the damages to your property in the future.