It’s hard to believe hurricane season is already here.
And with Southeast Texas’ strong history, it’s always a good idea to be prepared. Most people think of putting together a simple hurricane preparedness kit, but what about your HVAC unit? You may not know, but there are a few ways you can prepare your unit for the storm season ahead. PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE BEFORE THE STORM Check And Cover Your UnitA few days before the storm, check the surrounding area around your HVAC unit to ensure no objects could potentially damage it. Double-check your unit’s tie-downs to make sure they can withstand 160MPH winds. If not, you can upgrade them to endure the strongest of hurricanes. Purchase a waterproof tarp to cover your unit to protect it from water damage. Make sure the unit is turned off before you cover it and remove it before turning it back on after the storm. You wouldn’t want to use the tarp any other time, but it’ll help keep heavy rain at bay and prevent mold and rust. In addition to a tarp, invest in a surge protector for your unit in case of a lightning strike. Most HVAC units are on concrete slabs but double-check as this will help prevent your unit from sitting in water while on a solid foundation. WHAT TO DO DURING THE HURRICANE Once the hurricane arrives, turn off your HVAC unit. If not, your compressor could be at risk of being damaged. This could result in costly repairs later on down the road. If you choose to relocate, turn off the unit before you leave. If you decide to stick out the storm at home, keep cool by using ceiling and floor fans. AFTER THE STORM Once the storm has passed, inspect your unit to make sure there’s no apparent damage. If everything looks normal, it’s ok to turn your unit back on. This will help fight mold and humidity from the storm. While a visual inspection might suffice in most cases, it’s best to contact an HVAC professional like us to do a thorough inspection of your unit to ensure there wasn’t any substantial damage. As we Texans know, don’t wait until the last minute to start preparing for a hurricane. While the season officially begins in June, the worst storms usually surface anywhere around August to October. Contact us at 409-925-8275, or schedule an appointment online to make sure your unit is hurricane-ready. Visit our website for more information on our vast amount of services, including air conditioning, heating, duct cleaning, indoor air quality, maintenance, commercial HVAC, industrial services.
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A hurricane can be a scary time. But if you live in a hurricane-prone area, you are probably a pro! Whether you are a business owner or building owner, you want to protect your property during hurricane season.
In this article, we cover when hurricane season is, what kind of damage hurricanes cause and 5 tips for preparing your roof for hurricane season. WHEN IS HURRICANE SEASON? “The official hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin (the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico) is from 1 June to 30 November” according to the National Hurricane Center. “The peak of the season is from mid-August to late October. WHAT KIND OF DAMAGE CAN HURRICANES CAUSE? Wind DamageIt’s crazy how something you can’t even see can cause so much damage. Wind can cause a ton of havoc to your roof. Wind can cause damage in a number of ways:
Water DamageWhere there are strong winds, water and hail are likely to be close behind. Where the wind can cause damage to your roof system, there are vulnerable areas for water to enter your building. This water can cause issues with your building insulation, structure, and your property inside. HOW TO PREPARE YOUR ROOF FOR HURRICANE SEASON 1. Schedule an Evaluation If you are in a hurricane-prone area, yearly roof evaluations are a must. Having a knowledgeable contractor on your roof before hurricane season will ensure that there are no issues on your roof that a hurricane can make worse. Before hurricane season is the best time to have a contractor perform repairs and double check the integrity of your roof. Your roofing contractor will look at the following areas of your roof:
2. Trim Nearby Trees Strong winds of a hurricane can destroy buildings and throw cars across town, do you trust those tree branches that hang over your building? When you reach May or June, right before hurricane season, take a walk around your building and identify dead, broken or oversized trees and tree branches. These can easily be blown off during a storm and land on your building. 3. Continue with Regular Maintenance A maintenance program is a great way to be proactive with your roof system. Having a roofing contractor keep up the maintenance of your roof is one of the best ways to ensure that your roof is ready to stand up to incoming hurricanes. Regular maintenance can catch preliminary roof issues before they get worse, saving you money. 4. Clear Gutters and Drains We discussed above the damage that can come from water during and after a hurricane. Cleaning and making sure your gutters are clear is essential because your gutter system takes water from your roof system down to the ground. If your gutters are clogged, the backed-up water will sit on your roof, and the probability of water entering your building will increase. 5. Keep Up to Date with Insurance and Warranties When a hurricane passes through your area, it can be chaotic in the aftermath. You can be a step ahead of your competitors and neighbors by having all of your documentation prepared and in a safe and easily accessible place. Ideas of documents to keep:
When hurricane season comes, protecting people is the most important. With a thought-out and well-implemented preparation plan, you don’t have to think twice about your roof during a hurricane. Contact our team today to evaluate and help prepare your roof for the upcoming hurricane season. There are six widely accepted conditions for hurricane development:
1. The first condition is that ocean waters must be above 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). Below this threshold temperature, hurricanes will not form or will weaken rapidly once they move over water below this threshold. Ocean temperatures in the tropical East Pacific and the tropical Atlantic routinely surpass this threshold. 2. The second ingredient is distance from the equator. Without the spin of the earth and the resulting Corioles force, hurricanes would not form. Since the Corioles force is at a maximum at the poles and a minimum at the equator, hurricanes can not form within 5 degrees latitude of the equator. The Corioles force generates a counterclockwise spin to low pressure in the Northern Hemisphere and a clockwise spin to low pressure in the Southern Hemisphere. 3. The third ingredient is that of a saturated lapse rate gradient near the center of rotation of the storm. A saturated lapse rate insures latent heat will be released at a maximum rate. Hurricanes are warm core storms. The heat hurricanes generate is from the condensation of water vapor as it convectively rises around the eye wall. The lapse rate must be unstable around the eyewall to insure rising parcels of air will continue to rise and condense water vapor. 4. The fourth and one of the most important ingredients is that of a low vertical wind shear, especially in the upper level of the atmosphere. Wind shear is a change in wind speed with height. Strong upper level winds destroy the storms structure by displacing the warm temperatures above the eye and limiting the vertical accent of air parcels. Hurricanes will not form when the upper level winds are too strong. 5. The fifth ingredient is high relative humidity values from the surface to the mid levels of the atmosphere. Dry air in the mid levels of the atmosphere impedes hurricane development in two ways. First, dry air causes evaporation of liquid water. Since evaporation is a cooling process, it reduces the warm core structure of the hurricane and limits vertical development of convection. Second, dry air in the mid levels can create what is known as a trade wind inversion. This inversion is similar to sinking air in a high pressure system. The trade wind inversion produces a layer of warm temperatures and dryness in the mid levels of the atmosphere due to the sinking and adiabatic warming of the mid level air. This inhibits deep convection and produces a stable lapse rate. 6. The sixth ingredient is that of a tropical wave. Often hurricanes in the Atlantic begin as a thunderstorm complex that moves off the coast of Africa. It becomes what is known as a midtropospheric wave. If this wave encounters favorable conditions such as stated in the first five ingredients, it will amplify and evolve into a tropical storm or hurricane. Hurricanes in the East Pacific can develop by a midtropospheric wave or by what is known as a monsoonal trough. Additional items... Each year, an average of ten tropical storms develop over the Atlantic Ocean, Carribean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Many of these remain over the ocean. Six of these storms become hurricanes each year. In an average 3-year period, roughly five hurricanes strike the United States coastline, killing approximately 50 to 100 people anywhere from Texas to Maine. Of these, two are typically major hurricanes (winds greater than 110 mph). Typical hurricanes are about 300 miles wide although they can vary considerably in size. The eye at a hurricane's center is a relatively calm, clear area approximately 20-40 miles across. The eyewall surrounding the eye is composed of dense clouds that contain the highest winds in the storm. The storm's outer rainbands (often with hurricane or tropical storm-force winds) are made up of dense bands of thunderstorms ranging from a few miles to tens of miles wide and 50 to 300 miles long. Hurricane-force winds can extend outward to about 25 miles in a small hurricane and to more than 150 miles for a large one. Tropical storm-force winds can stretch out as far as 300 miles from center of a large hurricane. Frequently, the right side of a hurricane is the most dangerous in terms of storm surge, winds, and tornadoes. A hurricane's speed and path depend on complex ocean and atmospheric interactions, including the presence or absence of other weather patterns. This complexity of the flow makes it very difficult to predict the speed and direction of a hurricane. Do not focus on the eye or the track-hurricanes are immense systems that can move in complex patterns that are difficult to predict. Be prepared for changes in size, intensity, speed and direction. Along with the season of hot summer days, baseball, fireworks, and refreshing dips in your pool; come hurricanes and tropical storms.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the season for hurricanes in the northeast is June 1 to November 30 - right in the middle of pool season! But don't worry - preparing your Namco above-ground pool for a storm is as easy as 1-2-3. Just follow the simple steps below to protect your pool against possible damage caused by high winds and heavy rainfall. 1. Don’t Drain the Pool Water One of the biggest myths about preparing your above-ground pool for a storm is that you should drain your pool water. Oftentimes, pool owners are afraid that the high amounts of rain will cause their pool to overflow with water, flood their property, and damage equipment. Against what may seem like a logical step - do not drain your pool! The weight of the pool water will help to hold the pool in place and eliminate the possibility of your pool detaching from the ground or loose debris scratching the floor or liner of your pool. Most often, pool water overflowing will not cause any harm to surrounding vegetation. It’s better to ensure your pool will remain in place than the possibility of water overflowing. If you still are afraid of flooding, you can safely reduce the pool water by 2-3 inches as an added precaution. 2. Turn Off Power and Tie Down or Remove Equipment The first step is to turn off the circuit breaker connected to all your pool equipment. If high rainfall is expected, and you fear that your equipment may be affected by large amounts of water, you can move your pool components indoors to a dry location. This is much easier to do with an above-ground pool versus an in-ground pool. If you can’t bring the components indoors, you can still protect your pump, motor, and other electronics by covering them with a waterproof cover or plastic and tying the cover down tightly with ropes or tape. 3. Remove Pool Cover and Balance Your Chemicals High winds can cause a range of potential issues for your pool. Your first instinct may be to cover your pool to keep leaves, dirt, and other debris out. This is not advised since your pool cover can be easily blown off in high winds, and then ripped by a tree branch or damaged from objects falling on top of the cover. Since your pool cover will be off, you most likely will have organic material flying into your pool which will need to be dealt with. This organic matter contains contaminants from the atmosphere and provides food for bacteria to thrive off of. Still, it’s far less expensive to balance your chemicals than to replace a damaged pool cover. Before a storm, you can counteract the effects that rainwater will have on the chemistry of your pool and help with post-storm cleanup by shocking your pool water. We recommend a chlorine-free shock treatment like our Biosafe Systems Green CleanMax. This organic, environmentally friendly algae control system is toxic-free and will soften water, add oxygen and bring debris to the surface. Guidry Construction Group
"We Do It Right!!" Servicing Galveston County and South Houston for all your All remodeling, interior, exterior, decks, fences, additions etc... warranty on workmanship. phillipg7@aol.com 409-225-1777 Over 30 years of experience #galvestoncounty #smallbusiness #tacos #shoplocal #eatlocal #community #friends #mycuprunnethover #blessed #getoutandvote Houston Hurricane & Security
we have one goal and that is to keep you and your family safe and protected. Whether you need storm protection or security for your home or business, Houston Hurricane is here to help. Phone: 281-937-2909 | Fax: 832-201-8958 frank@houstonhurricane.com 5102 TX-3 Dickinson TX 77539 Mon-Fri: 8:00 am-5:00 pm | Sat-Sun: Closed #galvestoncounty #smallbusiness #tacos #shoplocal #eatlocal #community #friends #mycuprunnethover #blessed #getoutandvote Grease Monkey Texas City
3010 FM 1765 Texas City, TX 77590 Phone: 409 419 1200 #galvestoncounty #smallbusiness #tacos #shoplocal #eatlocal #community #friends #mycuprunnethover #blessed #getoutandvote Terrifying storms that can level houses and rip large trees from the ground, hurricanes are among the most powerful forces of nature. The National Hurricane Center defines a hurricane as a rotating, organized system of thunderstorms and clouds that originates…Myth #1: A Category 1 hurricane is no big deal. Once a tropical storm reaches hurricane level, it is further categorized by wind speed using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. The scale has five levels, from Category 1 storms with sustained wind speeds of 74 to 95 miles per hour up to Category 5 hurricanes that really pack a wallop, with sustained winds of 157+ miles per hour that can level all wood-framed buildings in the storm's direct path, uproot or snap all the trees, and leave the area uninhabitable for weeks. Although higher category storms cause greater devastation, a Category 1 storm is nothing to sneeze at. When subjected to winds of 74 miles per hour, even solidly built homes tend to sustain damage to roofs and siding. Damage to trees is common, and you can expect the power to be out for several days. Myth #2: High winds are the most dangerous aspect of a hurricane. While wind speeds of up to 157+ miles per hour are certainly dangerous, it’s not the wind that causes the most deaths in a tropical cyclone. It's actually flooding from heavy rainfall and storm surge that poses the biggest risk to life. Storm surge is the flooding caused by high winds pushing ocean water inland. In the United States, this often devastating flooding is responsible for nearly half of hurricane fatalities, while flooding and accidents caused by heavy rainfall account for another 25 percent, according to National Geographic. Myth #3: Hurricanes affect only the coastline. Although the most punishing hurricane damage happens along the coast, that doesn’t mean that those farther inland are out of danger. According to Hurricanes: Science & Society, storm-surge flooding can reach inland well beyond 10 miles, and heavy hurricane rainfall often leads to inland river flooding far from the shoreline. Myth #4: Hurricanes are a problem only for states along the Gulf Coast. While Florida has the dubious honor of being the state with the greatest number of direct hurricane and tropical storm strikes—229 since 1851, according to Weather.com—it’s certainly not the only state with a hurricane problem. North Carolina, in second place, has been struck by hurricanes 118 times, and 112 hurricanes have affected Texas. But although hurricanes strike the Gulf Coast and Southeastern states most often, a total of 34 states have been hit at least once by a hurricane or tropical storm. Even inland Kansas and Illinois each have one hurricane strike in recorded weather history, as does California, which, despite its extensive coastline, isn’t normally hit by tropical cyclones. The waters of the northern Pacific Ocean are simply too cold to stir up a tropical storm. Myth #5: Hurricanes happen only in the fall. While the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is late August through September, the official hurricane season, according to AccuWeather, runs from June 1 until November 30. Still, that doesn’t mean off-season hurricanes have never happened. A review of official weather records going back to 1851 reveals that there has been at least one named tropical storm or hurricane in every month of the year. Myth #6: Taping an X on your windows will keep them from breaking. It’s a common sight in movies and in real life, but in reality, taping a big X over your windows won’t prevent them from breaking during a hurricane, nor will it keep flying debris from blasting through the glass and into your home. According to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), what does help is installing storm shutters over windows and glass doors. In a pinch, you can ward off damage by nailing temporary plywood boards over the glass. Myth #7: Opening the doors will stabilize air pressure inside the house. Many people believe that opening doors or windows during a hurricane—a myth frequently applied to tornadoes as well—will stabilize the air pressure between the house’s interior and exterior, thus warding off damage. But in fact, NOAA cautions that not only will this do nothing to balance air pressure, but it will also leave your home even more susceptible to flying debris and flooding, Myth #8: It’s OK to wait and see how bad things get before evacuating. One of the most dangerous hurricane myths is that it’s fine to remain at home after an evacuation is ordered, either because you want to protect your belongings or you don't think the storm will be that bad. Not only does this put your life and your family’s lives at risk, it also puts first responders in danger should they need to rescue you during the storm. Pay close attention to weather reports if forecasts predict that a hurricane or tropical storm will hit your area. Prepare your home for the storm, but if ordered to evacuate, don’t wait to head out. Ready.gov, the website of the Department of Homeland Security's Ready campaign, provides detailed guidelines on what to do before, during, and after an emergency evacuation. Myth #9: Only windows and the roof are prone to hurricane damage. Surprisingly, one of the main sources of damage during a hurricane is the garage door. Because garage doors are large yet jointed, high winds can destabilize them, causing them to come off their tracks or collapse. Once this happens, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), winds from the garage can enter your home and destroy it. In many hurricane-prone parts of the country, garage doors are required to be hurricane-proof. If yours isn’t up to snuff, you may be able to reinforce it with a garage door retrofit kit, which can be purchased at many home improvement centers in hurricane-prone areas. Myth #10: An upper-story apartment or room is safest during a hurricane.
If you figure you’ll ride out the storm in your second- or third-floor apartment, or if you simply head upstairs when a hurricane strikes, you may be in for a big surprise. FEMA actually recommends sheltering on a lower level, assuming you have not been asked to evacuate. That’s because the higher you are, the higher the wind speed, making broken windows and flying debris more of a danger than on the lower floors. The City will be holding its annual hurricane town hall event.
June 23rd, 2022 from 5:30 - 7:00 pm. Come by the Doyle Convention Center and enjoy some free hot dogs. The first 50 people there will get a free flashlight. Everyone in attendance will have a chance to win a brand new generator! We will be talking about this year’s hurricane season. We will have speakers from the National Weather Service, TXDOT, and Emergency Management. We want to make sure everyone is prepared and has a plan! If you live on the Gulf coast, then hurricanes are a possibility between the months of June and November.
These storms may not be common in your area, but hurricanes bring heavy rain and strong winds. Therefore, it is important to be prepared in case one does come your way. These storms can cause damage to not only your home but your car, too. Certain steps must be taken to protect your vehicle from the approaching storm. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for hurricane season: Complete Car Maintenance. Throughout the year, you should be keeping up with car maintenance. However, not everyone does. As you are preparing for a hurricane, it is even more important to ensure your vehicle is in good condition. This is because an evacuation may be required, and you will rely on your car to get you to a safe location. Check the car’s fluid levels. This would include oil, transmission, brake, power steering, coolant, and windshield wiper fluids. In addition, you should check the vehicle’s belts, tires, and battery. If you do not feel comfortable performing these maintenance tasks, take it to a local mechanic. Check out more information on routine car maintenance. Assemble An Emergency Kit. You may not have roadside assistance. Even if you do, a car emergency kit can come in handy in the case of an emergency. When preparing for a storm, pack your trunk full of items that will aid you if an unexpected situation were to arise. You could even keep these items in your vehicle after hurricane season comes to an end. Here are a few items to include:
Park your car in a garage, if you have one. Back the vehicle into the garage. This way it will make it easier and faster to get the vehicle out in the case of an evacuation. If you do not happen to have a garage, park away from trees, power lines, light poles, and other things that could fall onto your vehicle and cause damage. Fill Up The Tank. If you know of an approaching hurricane, fuel up the tank ahead of time. You can also fill up a gas canister, just in case. It can be difficult to get to a gas station if you wait. Along certain routes, supply may be limited. Plus, you will have to sit in long lines, because you waited until the last minute. Be Informed. Keep up with the progression of the storm. When is it expected to reach your area? How bad is it supposed to be? Watch the local news to find out this information and their recommendations. Be informed on the emergency evacuation routes. Go over this information as a family. |