Hurricanes are powerful forces, and it is not surprising that they cause damage and destruction after they hit landfall. Hurricanes spawn strong winds, storm surge, and tornadoes, and each of these can turn a hurricane into a home-wrecker. After a hurricane has come inland, it does begin to deteriorate, but it can still cause serious damage to your home and your property. Even tropical storms that make landfall cause damage in these very same ways. Even when a tropical system is weak, it is still a very strong storm when compared to average thunderstorms.
Strong winds are the most common means of the destruction that is associated with hurricanes. Their continuous battering can uproot trees, knock over buildings, and flip cars. But the most frequent destruction comes when debris is flung around, and that’s why hurricane shutters are essential to protect your home.
The weather forecast can give you advance warning of which path the hurricane is following, and this certainly helps to prevent casualties. But many people are caught off guard by the tornadoes found in the spiral bands, because their path can’t be tracked. These tornadoes are also found close to or within the eye wall. Often these tornadoes occur in heavy rain storms, making them difficult, if not impossible, to see. Advances in radar technology give you more lead time than ever before, but these twisters are still very dangerous and can cause a lot of property damage. Just like heavy winds, they toss debris and objects around at high speeds, and hurricane shutters can protect your home from this, as well.
When Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida, it went through Weston, Florida between 6:00 am and 11:00 am, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage. Wilma spawned ten tornadoes in Florida, and they added to the property damage. Those who had installed and used their hurricane shutters in Weston, Florida were soon glad, as Hurricane Wilma’s power when she made landfall had been grossly underestimated. Hurricane Wilma was a Category 3, and was expected to weaken to a Category 1 as she reached the coast, but that didn’t happen, and many people failed to take the precautions that they would have taken with a stronger storm. Property damage in Florida totaled $20.6 billion.
No matter how much weather forecasting and radar tracking of hurricanes has advanced in recent years, you still can’t totally predict what a hurricane will do, as evidenced by Hurricane Wilma and the damage to Weston, Florida. Hurricane shutters are essential to protecting your home from flying debris and objects thrown by high winds and the tornadoes that hurricanes bring with them. If you don’t have them installed in your home yet, you should do it now.
