June 1 marks the beginning of the official Atlantic hurricane season.  This year, we’ve already had Alex in January and Bonnie in late May.  NOAA and other groups are expecting an average to active season this year as El Niño disappears.  If you live anywhere that might feel the effects of a tropical storm, you should be keeping track of the tropics throughout the summer and on into fall.  It is also a good idea to have a hurricane kit prepared in case you need to leave your home quickly.

Matt Daniel of EarthSky has a good blog entry on what you need for a hurricane kit here.  NOAA also has a lot of useful information at https://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hurricane/index.shtml and https://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/hurricane_preparedness.html.  Weather Underground has a simple checklist here.

2016 hurricane names