So you’re glued to the TV, watching as the “storm of the century” approaches. What to do?

I’m a big believer in knowledge and education but honestly, I try to tune out big media coverage of the storm. Why? Because they do everything they can to hype the storm. The bigger and scarier they make it seem, the more viewers they attract.

I’m going  to take a little different approach than most of these lists. There are hundreds of “hurricane check lists” telling you to fill your bathtub with water and stock up on batteries and food. No, I’m going to give you the practical homeowner tips that nobody else tells you.

Tip #1: Monitor the pure satellite images

My favorite site for no-nonsense satellite images is Unisys weather. Yes, the old-time computer company has the basics. The most informative images are the standard IR (infrared) or the WV (water vapor) image. These images give a great overview of what’s happening on a large scale.

Tip #2: Keep an eye on rivers and streams

The National Weather Service has a great website that few people know about. It has detailed information about projected water levels based on gauges and computations. Here’s a link for the Delaware River gauges in my area. Here’s the national map so you can choose the information for your area.

River levels with projections after Hurricane Irene

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