They just named the little bugger Invest 97 and she doesn't look like much, but there's a whole lot of hot water between her and us.

Make sure you watch it like a hawk this week, keep your gas tanks topped off, and if you don't already have a Hurricane Prep plan in place, get crackin'. There's things it's nice to do at leisure, and if a storm misses you, then no worries.

But if you turn around and one is breathing down your neck?

It's way too late.

Being prepared is the best medicine for the soundest, safest sleep.

I've updated the hurricane prep post on our Coalition of the Swilling every year since I first wrote it ten years ago, offering advice to help Bingley get ready for Super Storm Sandy. It's lived experience from our go-rounds with major blows like Fran, Ivan, Dennis, plus the tons of Cat 2s and lesser you have to deal with living on the coasts.

*2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019  2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 “Here We Go Again” Edition*

major dad and I are veterans of major Hurricanes Bertha, Fran, Ivan and Dennis. (along with others like Hurricane Sally on Ivan’s 16th anniversary in 2020). When Irene and Super Storm Sandy visited Brother Bingley, I thought I would offer up what’s worked for us in terms of preparation, both food-wise, house-wise PLUS some of the things folks don’t know about, that help make life bearable if those winds look to head your way. I always hope you’ll find or learn something you didn’t know before.

Literally hundreds of thousands of folks have read it over the years; many ask for it every spring, and some have even let been nice enough to us know how helpful it was.

That makes your heart glow.

If you're in harm's way or want to jog your brain, it's pretty much my version of a soup-to-nuts primer - shopping, boarding up, clearing the yard, what to do when you're inside, etc - the way we do it. Like this:

...1: Shopping list suggestions for tonight/assoonasyoufreakincan is up underneath the board pictures.

2: “WHAT TO DO TO GET INSIDE READY” is posted at the bottom of it all 

Make lists. Don’t trust yourself to remember everything you need and/or want to do. Write it all down. I do, every time.

I hope the ‘all in one place’ format will prove helpful and PLEASE don’t hesitate to comment (And please feel free to visit our previous posts afterward for those EXCELLENT COMMENTS.)

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Full disclosure. For Bertha and Fran in NC (Cat 2 and 3, 56 days apart in ’96), we only lived 10 miles inland, were on the eastern side of the storm both times (translation: got beat all to hell), never boarded up and did just fine. The most important thing we did, and have always done, is CLEAR THE AREA OF POTENTIAL FLYING OBJECTS. Anything and everything in our yard AND the neighborhood that could be turned into a missile (including that 100lb garden pot you don’t think can fly…it can), goes into the garage. Bertha came in during the daytime and, along around noon, we got to watch the neighbor’s metal shed explode and fly through our backyard at about 110 mph. That was the only thing we couldn’t control that day that went walkabout, and it would have killed someone if the wind hadn’t been parallel to the long side of the house.

BOARDING UP: In 2005, right after Rita went overhead on her way to Louisiana, we upgraded to aluminum shutters all around. If you want to board up, this is how we did it in Pensacola for Hurricane Ivan, and thank GOD we did.

And, yes - it's TOTALLY written in Beege.

God bless you all and keep you safe.

Stay frosty.