Weather

How To Protect Your House And Property From Wildfires

Wildfires have many different causes. For example, one common cause of wildfires is lightning. With an estimated 25 million strikes per year, the U.S. Forest Service is faced with the daunting task of containing fires that destroy homes and have caused thousands of deaths over the years.

Wildfires can occur anywhere. Forest fire death and damage statistics show that my own region (Northern Minnesota) was victim to one of the worst forest fires in history. The 1918 Minnesota fire took over 1,000 lives and destroyed 1,500 square miles of woodlands and property. I remember during my youth finding burned out stumps of great original growth white pines still standing in the woods behind our home.

In more recent years, the Boundary Waters Ham Lake fire of 2007 destroyed 75,000 acres of Canadian and American forest. It was caused by a careless camper who left his campfire without confirming that the fire had been completely put out.

As we've witnessed with the recent wildfires in California, wildfires can quickly spread out of control. Wind-swept wildfires can consume thousands of acres of woodlands, along with anything else that may be in their path!

Following are some ways that you can protect your home and your property from a wildfire. Remember, these are things you'll need to do now... before a wildfire is present.

Continue reading: Protect Your Home From Wildfires

After The Hurricane, How Long Could You Survive?

Hurricane Katrina taught everyone that shuttering the windows and picking up the kids' toys in the backyard isn't all that needs to be considered when you're waiting for that approaching hurricane to hit land.

Usually, the first thing you think of is protecting your home. In hurricane-prone areas, today's building codes require that certain techniques and materials be used in construction that will increase the survivability of residential structures. So that's a start in terms of protecting your home from hurricane damage.

If your home wasn't built with such features, many of them can be retrofitted to older homes as well, including:

• impact-resistant shutters
• mulch instead of crushed rock for landscaping
• hurricane straps which attach the roof to the side walls more securely
• the addition of head and foot door bolt locks to reinforce their security

Here are 10 things you need to do now to make sure your home is protected as best you can.

But storm damage to your home and property is only a small part of the equation when it comes to surviving natural disasters like hurricanes. There many other things to consider. Things that could make the difference between life and death for you and your family.

Continue reading: After The Hurricane: How Long Could You Survive?

Hurricane Warning? 10 Things You Need To Do... Now!

If you live in a hurricane zone, then you already know what kinds of damage a hurricane is capable of wreaking on your life.

The fact is, no one can be 100% prepared for a hurricane; they are just too unpredictable.

But there are things you can do to lessen the damage that a hurricane can cause.

Following are 10 things you can do to help prevent damage to your home, life, and property in the event a hurricane blows through your town...

Continue reading: Prevent Hurricane Damages

Tornado Shelters & Safe Rooms - The Best Options For Your Home

Tornadoes can rip a house apart in a matter of seconds. They can happen almost anywhere, but in the United States, they are most likely to happen in "Tornado Alley."

Here's a video explaining where Tornado Alley is, and why it is where it is. [NOTE: The weather experts mention the fact that 'tornado alley' is simply a term coined by the media... there's really not a scientific definition.]

When a tornado warning has been issued, people are urged to go into the safest room in their house, or a safe room. Usually that is the basement, but if there is no basement, your next best bet is to have a tornado safe room or storm shelter nearby.

A tornado room (or safe room) is built inside your home, while a tornado shelter is separate from the home and can either be built underground or above ground.

Both rooms and shelters can protect you from winds up to 250 mph and from flying objects moving at 100 mph. By the way, it's the missile-like flying objects that are the most dangerous effect of tornadoes!

Continue reading: Tornado Shelters & Safe Rooms For Your Home

Tornado Watch vs Tornado Warning: What To Look For & How To Stay Safe

It's tornado season again! That time of year when damage and injury from high winds will likely strike with very little warning.

Tornado season usually means the peak period for historical tornado reports in an area, when averaged over the history of reports. There is a general northward shift in "tornado season" in the U.S. from late winter through mid summer. The peak period for tornadoes in the southern plains, for example, is during May into early June. On the Gulf coast, it is earlier during the spring; in the northern plains and upper Midwest, it is June or July. Remember: tornadoes can happen any time of year if the conditions are right! -- The Online Tornado FAQ

Since 1875, the first year for which annual tornado deaths were reported by the NOAA, as many as 794 people have died in a single year from tornadoes! That was in 1925. Most recently, in 2008, there were 125 deaths reported.

With internal wind speed at times exceeding 300 mph, the condensation funnel of a tornado will drop down from the clouds, contacting the ground and destroying everything in its path as it travels along, possibly for many miles.

In some cases, ground contact area can be relatively small allowing the funnel to dart in and out of a neighborhood -- selectively damaging one house, while avoiding the surrounding neighbors completely.

At other times, a tornado can have ground contact as wide as a mile -- obliterating entire towns in a matter of minutes as it takes a clean slate approach to leveling a wide swath across the countryside.

Here's how to stay safe during a tornado...

Continue reading: How To Protect Yourself During A Tornado

The Best Online Pollen Count & Pollen Allergy Tools

Hay fever, allergies, sneezing and watery eyes. For some people, pollen creates havoc in their lives making a good portion of the year an annual endurance test they'd rather not experience.

My own father suffered from asthma and found the pollen situation in Nebraska more than his lungs could tolerate. The family would move numerous times trying to alleviate the impact the seasonal changes in pollen level had on his ability to breathe.

Today, forecasting trends in pollen distribution makes it much easier to determine when and where budding plant activity will likely create breathing difficulties. This is especially helpful for those who are sensitive or allergic to this reoccurring phenomenon.

For starters, check out how the weather affects pollen counts and can determine the severity of your allergies.

Continue reading: Online Pollen Counts & Allergy Tools

Ice Fishing In Early Spring Means Thin Ice... Don't Do It!

The old saying, "You're on thin ice" usually means you're probably speaking of a subject matter best left alone.

The reason behind the saying is obvious -- those who attempt to walk on thin ice are quite likely to be swimming in short order.

Every year, many who head out onto frozen lakes in search of that one good fishing hole in the ice end up at the bottom of the lake -- trapped in their vehicle.

There always seems to be that one guy who is oblivious to the rapidly approaching spring weather, and while trying to get in just one more weekend out on the lake, he ends up going through the ice.

Continue reading: Don't Ice Fish In Early Spring!

Should You Open Windows During A Tornado Or Hurricane?

Question: Fact or myth?...

You should open the windows in your house during a tornado or hurricane?

Answer: MYTH!

See why below...

Continue reading: Open Windows During Tornadoes?

Fun Things To Do With Kids In The Snow

Instead of hibernating in the house, watching TV and playing video games, why not relieve the winder blahs by getting outside with your kids? You'll be able to enjoying the beauty of the season and have some fun with your kids at the same time.

Last year my grandsons and I built 2 snow houses. It was a lot of fun. The boys and I spent the entire day playing in the snow.

The best part was that the temperatures stayed cold for several weeks and the boys and their friends had a lot of fun playing war games. They would form teams and try to capture the other team's fort. This year, they needed no inspiration from me. They made snow forts on their own with their friends.

Here are lots of fun winter activities that you can enjoy with kids out in the snow...

Continue reading: Winter Fun With Kids In The Snow

How To Prepare For Days (Or Weeks) Without Electricity After Bad Weather Strikes

Rain and sleet are not just a driving hazard.  Ask anyone living from Portland to Washington D.C. about what happens when a relentless ice storm comes to town.

Sure, there are a lot of ice storm traffic accidents. But the biggest problem with ice storms is they usually mean electrical power goes out over a large area.

Losing your electrical power for a few hours, or even a day is an inconvenience. On the other hand, losing power for 2 weeks or longer can be a very costly and damaging event for many homeowners.

Continue reading: Preparing For No Electricity At Home