Hurricane preparation timeline: 7 days to 12 hours¶

This hurricane preparation timeline tells you what to do each day as a storm gets closer, from the first hint a week out to the last 12 hours. Each step is matched to the alerts your weather service raises, so you know which job goes with which alert and what to finish before the wind starts.

How to use this timeline¶

Count the days to when tropical storm force winds, about 63 km/h (39 mph), are expected to start where you are. Do not count to when the center or eye of the storm reaches land. Dangerous wind, rain, and surge often arrive many hours before the center. Official alert times are counted the same way.

The arrival of those winds is your deadline. Once they start, outdoor work and driving become dangerous, and rescue crews stop going out. Every step on this page should be done before then.

Storms do not follow a schedule. A storm can form close to land and skip straight to the 1 day step, or slow down and give you extra days. If you are behind, jump to the step that matches the alert in force where you live. Then do everything above it that you can still do safely.

An example of the countdown¶

Here is how a week might look for a household on a coast. Your dates will differ.

• Monday: The tropical outlook shows a chance that a storm forms in the region. You check your kit and fill the fuel tank.
• Wednesday: An advisory says the storm may threaten your coast within about 72 hours. You buy the last supplies, photograph your home for insurance, and confirm where you will stay.
• Thursday: A watch goes up for your area. You put up window covers, fill containers with water, and tell your out of area contact your plan.
• Friday: A warning replaces the watch. Your zone is ordered out, so you leave in daylight, before the roads close.

The example works because each step was done before the next alert arrived. If the storm turns away, you keep the supplies and use them over the following weeks.

If you only do three things¶

1. When a storm first appears in the forecast, finish your shopping, fill prescriptions, and fill the fuel tank. Do not wait for a watch.
2. When a watch or first signal is raised, get the house ready and decide whether you will leave.
3. When a warning is raised or officials order your area out, leave. If you are staying, be inside and ready before the wind starts.

How alerts rise in different countries¶

Each country issues its own alerts, and the names and times differ. This table shows how the steps line up in some of the main systems. Your local help page has the system where you live, and When a storm is approaching has the same countdown in more detail.

The hours in brackets are the lead times each agency gives for when the dangerous wind is expected to start. Other systems follow the same idea. Hong Kong raises Standby Signal No. 1 when a tropical cyclone may affect the territory, then Signal No. 3, Signal No. 8, and higher as the winds grow.

Réunion moves through a pre-alert, orange alert, and red alert. Many Caribbean islands use the NHC watch and warning system. For more, see Hurricane watches vs warnings and Storms around the world.

Before the season: the base you build on¶

The timeline only works if most of the work is already done. Before the season starts, you should have:

• A written family emergency plan that everyone knows
• Your evacuation zone or area, and a place to go
• Water and food for several days or more, and a reserve of every prescription. See the hurricane supply list
• A go bag for each person
• Window covers cut and labeled, or shutters that work. See Prepare your home
• Copies of documents in a waterproof bag. See documents and insurance
• Emergency alerts turned on, and a battery or crank radio

If you have none of this, do not panic. Start at the 7 day step and do as much as you can.

If you need more time¶

Some households need to start earlier than the timeline says. Begin one step ahead if any of these apply:

• You live in a mobile home, a boat, or a lightly built house. See Mobile and manufactured homes and Boats.
• Someone in the household uses oxygen, dialysis, a wheelchair, or other equipment that needs power. See Seniors and people with disabilities.
• You care for a baby, a child, or an older adult who cannot travel quickly.
• You depend on one car, have no cash, or live far from stores.

Starting early costs little more than starting late, and it gives the people who need the most help more hours to get it.

7 days out: a storm may form¶

Alerts: Weather services publish outlooks that show areas where a storm could form over the next week. The NHC's tropical weather outlook gives a chance of formation over 48 hours and over 7 days. Other services publish similar outlooks and advisories. Nothing is certain yet, and the storm may never reach you.

What to do: Stay calm and get ahead of the crowd. Shopping now costs less stress and less money than shopping later.

• Check your national weather service once a day, and use official sources rather than social media for the forecast
• Check your kit and buy what is missing: water, food, batteries, medicine
• Refill prescriptions, and ask your pharmacy or doctor about an early refill if your supply is low
• Get some cash in small notes, since card machines and cash machines stop working without power
• Fill the fuel tank in your car, and keep it above half from now on
• Check that phones, power banks, and radios work and charge
• If you might travel, check the dates against the forecast and look at your cancellation options
• If you need help to evacuate, call your local emergency office or support network now

3 days out: the storm is likely to affect your area¶

Alerts: The storm usually has a forecast track by now. In the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, the NHC can issue advisories for a "potential tropical cyclone" before the storm has fully formed, when it threatens land with tropical storm or hurricane conditions. India's IMD issues a pre-cyclone watch about 72 hours before bad weather starts. Many countries' disaster agencies begin readiness meetings at this stage.

What to do: Finish everything that needs stores, workers, or long lines. In 24 to 48 hours these will be hard to find.

• Buy the rest of your supplies, plus plastic sheeting, tape, rope, and heavy rubbish bags
• Get fuel for a generator if you use one, and store it outside the house in approved containers. Never run a generator indoors. See Generator safety
• Check your window covers and the tools and fixings to put them up
• Trim or remove loose branches, if you can do it safely and the waste can be collected
• Confirm your place to stay: call your friends or family, or book a hotel outside the danger area, and check the pet policy
• Plan the route and a backup route
• Do laundry and wash dishes while you have water and power
• Take photos and video of your home and belongings for insurance
• If you are a visitor, talk to your hotel and airline about leaving early. See visitors and tourists
• Check on older neighbors and anyone who lives alone

2 days out: watch or first signal¶

Alerts: The NHC issues a hurricane or tropical storm watch about 48 hours before tropical storm force winds are expected, when those conditions are possible. In the Philippines, Signal No. 1 means strong winds are possible within 36 hours. India's IMD issues a cyclone alert at least 48 hours ahead. Australia's BoM issues a tropical cyclone watch when gales are possible within 48 hours.

Local officials may order the first evacuations now, starting with the areas closest to the water, mobile homes, and islands.

What to do: Get the house ready and make the stay or go decision. Read Evacuate or stay.

• Put up shutters or window covers
• Bring in or tie down everything outside that wind could lift: furniture, bins, roof sheets, toys, plants
• Clear drains and gutters one more time
• Place sandbags or flood barriers at doors if your area floods
• Move valuables, papers, and electronics to a high shelf or upper floor
• Fill every clean container you own with drinking water. Fill a bathtub for washing and flushing toilets. Plan on at least 4 liters (1 gallon) of drinking water per person per day
• Freeze containers of water to keep food cold longer
• Charge every phone, power bank, and rechargeable light
• Pack the car, or put the go bags by the door
• Tell your out of area contact your plan. See Staying in touch
• If you are in an area told to leave, or in a mobile home, a lightly built house, or an unsafe building, leave now while roads are open

1 day out: warning, leave or settle in¶

Alerts: The NHC issues a hurricane or tropical storm warning about 36 hours before tropical storm force winds are expected, when those conditions are expected. In the Philippines, Signal No. 2 gives about 24 hours and Signal No. 3 about 18 hours before the expected winds. India's IMD issues a cyclone warning at least 24 hours ahead and names the expected landfall area. Australia's BoM issues a tropical cyclone warning when gales are expected within 24 hours.

Evacuation orders often widen at this stage.

What to do: This is the last safe time to travel. Once strong winds start, roads become dangerous, bridges may close, and rescue crews stop going out.

If you are leaving:

• Leave as soon as your area is told to go, in daylight if you can
• Turn off the electricity at the main switch and the water at the main valve before you go, if officials advise it
• Take your go bags, medicine, documents, pets, and phone chargers
• Text your out of area contact when you leave and when you arrive
• See Evacuating safely and Public shelters

If you are staying:

• Choose your safe room: a small inside room, closet, or hallway on the lowest floor that will not flood, away from windows
• Put water, food, lights, radio, medicine, shoes, and a first aid kit in the safe room
• Turn the refrigerator and freezer to the coldest setting and keep the doors shut
• Park cars on high ground away from trees
• Follow Final preparations for the full last day list

12 hours out: be in place¶

Alerts: In the Philippines, Signal No. 4 or No. 5 is raised about 12 hours before typhoon force winds. India's IMD issues its post-landfall outlook at least 12 hours before landfall. In Hong Kong, the No. 8 signal means gale or storm force winds are expected or blowing. Warnings everywhere are updated more often, and the first rain bands may already be passing.

What to do: Stop working outside. Be where you will ride out the storm.

• Be at your destination, or inside your home, before the wind starts
• Bring pets inside and keep them in carriers or one room
• Keep shoes, a light, and your phone next to you
• Listen to official updates on a battery radio or your phone
• Send your check in text now, while the network still works
• Move to the safe room when the wind rises, and stay away from windows
• If water starts rising inside, move to a higher floor, but never into a closed attic or roof space without a way out

If the forecast changes¶

Forecasts shift, especially more than three days out. A storm can turn away, turn back, speed up, slow down, or strengthen quickly. Check the official forecast at least twice a day once a watch is raised, and follow the newest alert, not the one you heard yesterday. See How to read a hurricane forecast.

If the storm misses you, keep your supplies. Use the extra food and water over the next weeks, and restock in time for the next storm.

Quick reference¶

Related guides¶

• When a storm is approaching
• Hurricane watches vs warnings
• Evacuate or stay
• Final preparations
• Printable checklists