Just a few minutes before I started writing this, my favorite cat-sitter and friends sent out a Facebook post from their 13th floor vacation condo on Perdido Key west of Pensacola as TS Gordon bears down on them. They are without power and water but so far are safe and dry.  Yesterday they did not even know that the storm was coming their way because most weather apps on smartphones are not good at keeping up with rapidly changing conditions.

Weather forecasts are better now than they were in the past as computer models and observations have improved, but dangerous weather can occur when you are not expecting it, especially if you have not been paying attention to changing conditions (unlike weather nerds like me) or are depending on apps to keep you up to date. What can you do to protect yourself against dangerous weather? Dennis Mercereau has some trips in this recent blog post from Outside magazine here. Be prepared in advance of bad weather and keep yourself safe!

Source: Moni3, Commons Wikimedia