Uh Oh, Alberto Says, “Hello, Get Ready!”

Melbourne, FL – May 20, 2012 – Yes, friends and neighbors, it’s that time of year again when we should all take stock of our readiness to make it through another season of possible inclement weather. This Sunday evening, Tropical Storm Alberto is stumbling around offshore near Jacksonville, sort of like a drunken sailor. Chances are, he won’t do any serious damage, but let’s take a clue and make sure we’re all ready for something more serious.

I don’t know about you, but around our house the combination of prolonged Recession and no storms to speak of last season has led us to eat into our stock of storm supplies – literally. The huge reserve of bottled water, sports drinks and sodas is gone. So are most of our canned vegetables. The only thing I’m glad is gone is those cans of that truly awful Dinty Moore Beef Stew.

We’re gonna hit the big W-M this week and re-stock. Also, we’ll be heading to our friendly local Dollar Store for some real bargains. We’re low on trash bags, paper towels, that other vital paper product and gas for the generator and the chain saw, too. (God forbid!)  Like most of you, we’re good to go on window shutters, though. No midnight visits to the big box home improvement store for us!

By the way, before a storm comes they always show people on TV putting masking tape on big plate glass windows, like for storefronts, don’t they? What’s up with that? What does anyone think masking tape can do that will make any difference whatever?  It’s like flight attendants reminding you your seat cushion is a flotation device. Yeah, right. Thanks for looking out for me!

OK. For a good list of things you ought to do and have around, check out “Creating a Disaster Supply Kit” here.  For basic storm information, check this out. To find where local storm shelters are, try this site.

The place to go when it’s time to start tracking a storm is the National Hurricane Center. My favorite source for finding out what’s going on is AccuWeather.com. Start with a RADAR image of the southeast U.S. here. You can zoom into Florida here. You can zoom in again to the Spacecoast here. It’s a great service, accurate and up to the minute.

Above all, if there’s any doubt, leave! Leave early! Really early! Otherwise you risk being stuck in the open with no food, no water and no gasoline. Not a cheery thought.

Oh,  think for just a moment about those fortunate folks who now live in a Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) home from LifeStyle Homes. Even if electrical power goes off for two weeks, they’ll have air conditioning and hot water for showers whenever it’s daylight, because their homes will make their own electricity whenever the sun is up. Cool!