A strong and early start to the hurricane season serves as a good reminder to review your preparedness plan. Hurricane Beryl breaks the record for the earliest Cat 5 and experts are predicting an active season.
Though storm paths are sometimes unclear, it doesn’t take a direct hit to damage or sink recreational vessels, or cause havoc at boat storage facilities. As Beryl was streaking towards Jamaica in early July, the Marine Trades Association of New Jersey (MTA/NJ) offered up these helpful websites to assist in your hurricane and emergency preparedness plans this season.
Storm Preparedness Resources:
NJ Office of Emergency Management – Resources for Businesses
NJ Coastal Evacuation Maps & Storm Surge Maps
BoatUS offers free tools, tips and information in the Hurricane Tracking and Resource Center. The site includes an in-depth Guide to Preparing Boats and Marinas for Hurricanes, What Works Guide in PDF form, with checklists for what to do before and after a hurricane strikes.
Make sure you take the proper steps to prepare your facility and customers in the event of a hurricane or storm.
Ready.gov Hurricane Preparedness Tips
Ready.gov Preparedness Planning for Businesses
Forecasts and Weather Reports:
- NOAA National Hurricane Center
- Hurricane Accuweather
- Weather.com Hurricane Tracker
- Weather Underground
- NOAA National Weather Service
The Tide Gauges page on weather.gov displays peak levels from past storms and events, and information on what levels will start to show impacts. Hover over a station on the map for expanded data.
Tropical Tidbits is a helpful website to get an understanding of all the variables that can impact strength/direction in non-technical terms.
The Center for Maritime Systems at Stevens Institute of Technology will be forecasting and displaying information on water levels, waves and currents through their NJ Coast and Harbor Data and Prediction System, as well as monitoring the Storm Surges.
Click here for the NJ Flood Mapper – an interactive mapping website to visualize coastal flooding hazards and sea level rise.
Established in 1972, MTA/NJ is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, advancing, and protecting the recreational marine industry and waterways in the State of New Jersey. Learn more at mtanj.org.
