The National Hurricane Center has begun issuing advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone #9… the possible future tropical storm or hurricane that would be known as Isaias should it develop. Before we go any further, we should again note that it’s is still VERY early and the system hasn’t even fully formed yet. It is a meteorological eternity between now and the upcoming weekend, which is when this system could reach the Florida peninsula. Along the way it may pass over Puerto Rico, putting a number of Americans there at risk for flooding and mudslides. Due to the fact that the storm system has not yet fully formed, we don’t yet know where the center is and therefore it’s hard to completely fix a track on it. Furthermore, it’s hard to determine how strong the storm might be when/if it gets here, though early thinking is that it’s “only” a tropical storm.
So what to do in the meantime? If you haven’t already, make sure you’ve done your early hurricane preparations for this season. Take a look at your food and water stockpiles (which, ideally, you would have already arranged prior to the start of the season but this year is unlike any other) and make sure they haven’t been depleted over the course of the past couple of months. And just keep an eye on the weather for the next few days as we try to pinpoint this thing.
Keep calm and carry on!