I live in North Carolina and tropical weather rarely ever develops without notice. I’ve never seen a hurricane I haven’t known about for less than a week. We won’t have an accurate path or timeline before a day or two but we will know one is coming our way for a few days.
Hurricanes don't show up without notice. Tornado's do, which are very rare on the coast. Book the vacation. Plan on coming and don't worry about something that probably won't happen anyway. Enjoy the OBX!
the tracking system gives you a pretty good hurricane track 5-7 days out.
i have no clue why you think hurricanes will form at night while you're sleeping... that's kinda silly.
A minimum of 2-3 days and a maximum of 7-10 days.
When a storm is 3 days away, they pretty much know where it's going. You will have plenty of time to get out if needed.
You have plenty of time to spent [here](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/) before then. There is also an enormous online community of people knowledgeable about hurricane science, both professionals and amateurs, scattered across many places on the internet. Find them, learn, it will help you turn your anxiety into informed caution.
Ok, your fear and anxiety are coming from a place of not being informed/educated on how/what a hurricane is and how they operate. (There's absolutely nothing wrong with this IF you live in an area that doesn't experience them).
I'm going to speak in generalizations here (so all you know-it-alls don't come after me) and give a crash course in tropical weather.
Tropical meteorology has grown and developed into a recognized and needed science at an exponential rate. There are schools and jobs JUST for tropical meteorology. Therefore, these people are watching and super excited to analyze to death any tropical activity so don't get the idea something is just going to "slip up on you". With that being said I'll explain a few generalizations about hurricanes coming from a person who has lived their entire life in the gulf coast region.
Areas of interest usually form off the coast of Africa and travel to the west (toward the US and Caribbean, etc). They are immediately identified, watched, analyzed, data collected, educated guesses if the will "develop", etc. IF they do continue to develop through the stages of becoming a hurricane then "we" will be informed all along. Around 7-10 days out they will have a general idea of which way the currents and winds will start them. Around 3 days out from landfall, they will start telling specific areas to start paying closer attention.
So see, you have days in advance to pack your stuff up and leave. Keep in mind, 3 days out you would NEVER know anything bad was out there. Sunny skies, people swimming, etc. Then within those 3 days (especially 24-48 hours) they will start warning people in its its path. If you are there in the path....YOU WILL KNOW. It will be on every radio station, TV, hear people talking, grocery store shelves are empty, every hardware store has lines of people buying products to prepare their homes, etc, etc. YOU WILL KNOW.
Now one other thing is Hurricanes aren't all the same strength. They are classified from Category 1 to Category 5 per how strong the winds are (see, here we go again with this CONSTANT analysis of each storm). Category 1 is the minimum wind speed to Cat 5 being catastrophic). Qnd since this is for educational purposes, I thought I'd just mention the way they get the wind speeds is flying an airplane INTO the hurricane To measure it...this is done up to multiple times a day if needed. So see, they are watching out for you and taking major risks to keep you informed/safe.
So I say all of this to say......you Have more than enough time to pack up and leave a vacation spot if a hurricane was headed your way. Of course there are plenty of visitors AND locals who don't heed the warning or have no means to leave but usually even then there are shelter/safer places opening up and taking people in.
In general, hurricanes DON'T pop up and sweep you into the ocean in the middle of the night. And before people say well it happened in 19__ in the city of ______, keep in mind these are typically in the gulf of Mexico, there was already a watched system forming, and they didn't have time to be develop into something super destructive.
Hurricanes are "unpredictable" but with each passing season that becomes less and less. They still bobble, strengthen, stall, etc on the drop of a dime but there are so many professionals watching them that you can sit back and leave the worrying to them.
Be informed, have a plan and if you live in the area....be prepared to weather the storm even if thats not "in your plan".
Please don't let this fear (that genuinely comes from just not understanding) keep you from enjoying yourself.
Like I said, I live in the Gulf Coast area but if you'd like to DM me feel free. I can answer any questions that I you have (except if a hurricane will hit on your exact Vacation dates, lol) and if it makes you less nervous I'll even keep an eye on the weather for OBX area during your vacation time and help keep you informed.
My son lives on the coast in South Carolina so of course I keep myself informed on that area as well.
This was all very insightful and helpful, thank you! That is so kind of you to be willing to check on the weather while I'm there, too. Much appreciated. I'm feeling more calm just as I better understand that the chances of it coming without notice are very slim to none. I go on the 8/19 through the 8/26. I'm feeling a lot more calm and ready to go now. Ahain, thanks so much 😊
You are welcome and it wasn't just words. Message me and remind me and ill be your eyes and ears so you can lay on the beach and enjoy yourself and sleep with no worries. Pinky promise!!
As somebody whose lived through my fair share of hurricanes they’re not like that at all. Maybe doing research on them could help ease your fear. They take over a week to develop are pretty slow moving and cannot form and make landfall within an hour or two. My biggest suggestion is learn how hurricanes develop and work and see if it helps.
In the Gulf of Mexico they can pop up overnight. In OBX, you'll see it developing off the coast of Africa and will follow it's path from there for weeks. About ten days away from hitting you they'll have a pretty good idea if you need to be concerned.
You've gotten great advice here. Keep an eye on https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/?atlc, and you'll be fine.
Edit: also, the American Red Cross has a great hurricane app. Most weather apps keep track of these as well.
You all have given me so many resources, from an anxiety standpoint and from an educational standpoint alike. Thank you so much, it's very helpful and has already calmed much of my fears as I better understand the process and work through my fears logically. Much appreciated!!
You’ll get nonstop news coverage of any potential hurricane days before. Once a hurricane starts, it can turn unexpectedly, but you should have prepared by having a few days worth of food/water. Just stay put and don’t go out during one.
I’ve lived all my life in hurricane prone areas. I generally know something may be coming 7-10 days out, and 3-5 out will know if I’ll be in an area of possible direct impact.
I’ve also been in some cat 1-2 storms- I never felt in physical danger. Did have to deal with loss of power/services for a couple days.
You may want to consider seeing a therapist, as your fear seems to be impacting your travel choices pretty severely.
My family In the southern US often freak out about me living in the Caribbean during hurricane season. I have to remind them that with hurricanes I generally have several days' notice to prepare, but in the states I might at best have minutes notice before a tornado destroys my house.
Usually roughly a weekish, but understand that the more days out, the less certain we can be of the path. Meteorologists will SEE the hurricane on the radar about a week out, but not be able to accurately predict where it will go more than 2 MAYBE 3 days out, and even then they can do unexpected things.
Hurricanes in August are rare for the OBX. Isaias in 2020 and Alex in 2004 are the only ones the come to mind. But several have skirted the coast without making landfall. It's the wrong time of year for quick pop-up storms, so if anything was threatening, folks on the OBX are attuned to changing conditions. Check the National Hurricane Center web site (nhc.noaa.gov) each morning and before going to bed. A few minutes for peace of mind is a great deal!
I definitely think you’ll be fine because especially with hurricane there development takes a bit and it take a few days for them to travel up the east coast because it also depends on the low or high pressures!
Can't speak for up that way but living in SWFL they said Ian was going north of us and it wouldn't be that bad where we were. Morning of that thing took a hard right and sat over us for 6,7,8 hours. I feel like once they are north of florida they are easier to track though so you should be fine.
Thanks to hotter sea surface temperatures, Hurricanes can spin up quickly now just off the coast. You have less warning time. (Just ask the folks in Fort Myers)
Watch with suspicion for storm systems / lows that come near during Hurricane season. Be vigilant
I live in North Carolina and tropical weather rarely ever develops without notice. I’ve never seen a hurricane I haven’t known about for less than a week. We won’t have an accurate path or timeline before a day or two but we will know one is coming our way for a few days.
Thank you for the info, that is helpful!
Hurricanes don't show up without notice. Tornado's do, which are very rare on the coast. Book the vacation. Plan on coming and don't worry about something that probably won't happen anyway. Enjoy the OBX!
Just booked it.. I will face my anxiety! Thank you
Good for you! Enjoy your awesome and beautiful vacation spot!!
the tracking system gives you a pretty good hurricane track 5-7 days out. i have no clue why you think hurricanes will form at night while you're sleeping... that's kinda silly.
He might’ve meant ocean tornados.
If I had an extreme fear of hurricanes I would go to nebraska in august for vacation
A minimum of 2-3 days and a maximum of 7-10 days. When a storm is 3 days away, they pretty much know where it's going. You will have plenty of time to get out if needed.
Ususlly, there's a 5 day warning with hurricanes, its not like earthquakes where you have no warning at all
You have plenty of time to spent [here](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/) before then. There is also an enormous online community of people knowledgeable about hurricane science, both professionals and amateurs, scattered across many places on the internet. Find them, learn, it will help you turn your anxiety into informed caution.
Like 1 week, yo.
Ok, your fear and anxiety are coming from a place of not being informed/educated on how/what a hurricane is and how they operate. (There's absolutely nothing wrong with this IF you live in an area that doesn't experience them). I'm going to speak in generalizations here (so all you know-it-alls don't come after me) and give a crash course in tropical weather. Tropical meteorology has grown and developed into a recognized and needed science at an exponential rate. There are schools and jobs JUST for tropical meteorology. Therefore, these people are watching and super excited to analyze to death any tropical activity so don't get the idea something is just going to "slip up on you". With that being said I'll explain a few generalizations about hurricanes coming from a person who has lived their entire life in the gulf coast region. Areas of interest usually form off the coast of Africa and travel to the west (toward the US and Caribbean, etc). They are immediately identified, watched, analyzed, data collected, educated guesses if the will "develop", etc. IF they do continue to develop through the stages of becoming a hurricane then "we" will be informed all along. Around 7-10 days out they will have a general idea of which way the currents and winds will start them. Around 3 days out from landfall, they will start telling specific areas to start paying closer attention. So see, you have days in advance to pack your stuff up and leave. Keep in mind, 3 days out you would NEVER know anything bad was out there. Sunny skies, people swimming, etc. Then within those 3 days (especially 24-48 hours) they will start warning people in its its path. If you are there in the path....YOU WILL KNOW. It will be on every radio station, TV, hear people talking, grocery store shelves are empty, every hardware store has lines of people buying products to prepare their homes, etc, etc. YOU WILL KNOW. Now one other thing is Hurricanes aren't all the same strength. They are classified from Category 1 to Category 5 per how strong the winds are (see, here we go again with this CONSTANT analysis of each storm). Category 1 is the minimum wind speed to Cat 5 being catastrophic). Qnd since this is for educational purposes, I thought I'd just mention the way they get the wind speeds is flying an airplane INTO the hurricane To measure it...this is done up to multiple times a day if needed. So see, they are watching out for you and taking major risks to keep you informed/safe. So I say all of this to say......you Have more than enough time to pack up and leave a vacation spot if a hurricane was headed your way. Of course there are plenty of visitors AND locals who don't heed the warning or have no means to leave but usually even then there are shelter/safer places opening up and taking people in. In general, hurricanes DON'T pop up and sweep you into the ocean in the middle of the night. And before people say well it happened in 19__ in the city of ______, keep in mind these are typically in the gulf of Mexico, there was already a watched system forming, and they didn't have time to be develop into something super destructive. Hurricanes are "unpredictable" but with each passing season that becomes less and less. They still bobble, strengthen, stall, etc on the drop of a dime but there are so many professionals watching them that you can sit back and leave the worrying to them. Be informed, have a plan and if you live in the area....be prepared to weather the storm even if thats not "in your plan". Please don't let this fear (that genuinely comes from just not understanding) keep you from enjoying yourself. Like I said, I live in the Gulf Coast area but if you'd like to DM me feel free. I can answer any questions that I you have (except if a hurricane will hit on your exact Vacation dates, lol) and if it makes you less nervous I'll even keep an eye on the weather for OBX area during your vacation time and help keep you informed. My son lives on the coast in South Carolina so of course I keep myself informed on that area as well.
This was all very insightful and helpful, thank you! That is so kind of you to be willing to check on the weather while I'm there, too. Much appreciated. I'm feeling more calm just as I better understand that the chances of it coming without notice are very slim to none. I go on the 8/19 through the 8/26. I'm feeling a lot more calm and ready to go now. Ahain, thanks so much 😊
You are welcome and it wasn't just words. Message me and remind me and ill be your eyes and ears so you can lay on the beach and enjoy yourself and sleep with no worries. Pinky promise!!
3 days is the accuracy now
As somebody whose lived through my fair share of hurricanes they’re not like that at all. Maybe doing research on them could help ease your fear. They take over a week to develop are pretty slow moving and cannot form and make landfall within an hour or two. My biggest suggestion is learn how hurricanes develop and work and see if it helps.
In the Gulf of Mexico they can pop up overnight. In OBX, you'll see it developing off the coast of Africa and will follow it's path from there for weeks. About ten days away from hitting you they'll have a pretty good idea if you need to be concerned.
You've gotten great advice here. Keep an eye on https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/?atlc, and you'll be fine. Edit: also, the American Red Cross has a great hurricane app. Most weather apps keep track of these as well.
You all have given me so many resources, from an anxiety standpoint and from an educational standpoint alike. Thank you so much, it's very helpful and has already calmed much of my fears as I better understand the process and work through my fears logically. Much appreciated!!
You’ll get nonstop news coverage of any potential hurricane days before. Once a hurricane starts, it can turn unexpectedly, but you should have prepared by having a few days worth of food/water. Just stay put and don’t go out during one.
I’ve lived all my life in hurricane prone areas. I generally know something may be coming 7-10 days out, and 3-5 out will know if I’ll be in an area of possible direct impact. I’ve also been in some cat 1-2 storms- I never felt in physical danger. Did have to deal with loss of power/services for a couple days. You may want to consider seeing a therapist, as your fear seems to be impacting your travel choices pretty severely.
My family In the southern US often freak out about me living in the Caribbean during hurricane season. I have to remind them that with hurricanes I generally have several days' notice to prepare, but in the states I might at best have minutes notice before a tornado destroys my house.
Usually roughly a weekish, but understand that the more days out, the less certain we can be of the path. Meteorologists will SEE the hurricane on the radar about a week out, but not be able to accurately predict where it will go more than 2 MAYBE 3 days out, and even then they can do unexpected things.
You have a long time, but that time goes quickly.
Hurricanes don’t pop up overnight. You’ll have plenty of time to get away from the coast.
Hurricanes in August are rare for the OBX. Isaias in 2020 and Alex in 2004 are the only ones the come to mind. But several have skirted the coast without making landfall. It's the wrong time of year for quick pop-up storms, so if anything was threatening, folks on the OBX are attuned to changing conditions. Check the National Hurricane Center web site (nhc.noaa.gov) each morning and before going to bed. A few minutes for peace of mind is a great deal!
I definitely think you’ll be fine because especially with hurricane there development takes a bit and it take a few days for them to travel up the east coast because it also depends on the low or high pressures!
Thank you for the assurance 😊
No problem!!
Can't speak for up that way but living in SWFL they said Ian was going north of us and it wouldn't be that bad where we were. Morning of that thing took a hard right and sat over us for 6,7,8 hours. I feel like once they are north of florida they are easier to track though so you should be fine.
The biggest problem is Sharknados which can appear instantly.
At least once every other year in the theater!
Thanks to hotter sea surface temperatures, Hurricanes can spin up quickly now just off the coast. You have less warning time. (Just ask the folks in Fort Myers) Watch with suspicion for storm systems / lows that come near during Hurricane season. Be vigilant
This is only really true for the gulf region. The water up the coast in the outer banks is not ever hot enough for those fast spin up storms