Hurricane season 2025: Protecting your home and building the ultimate survival kit
Getting ready before a tropical storm hits is key to minimizing its impact. VOZ brings you essential tips to help keep you and your family safe.
Preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Milton
Floods, torrential rains, strong winds, and tornadoes—the 2025 hurricane season is underway. How can you get your home ready? What essentials belong in a survival kit? And how do you make sense of weather forecasts? VOZ has all the answers you need.
But first, a clarification: there isn’t just one hurricane season — there are three.
- Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season (May 15 - November 30)
- Atlantic Hurricane Season (June 1 - November 30)
- Central Pacific Hurricane Season (June 1 - November 30)
Keep in mind which season applies to your state or region and remember that hurricanes can occur before or after these official periods.
Hurricane 101
Hurricanes belong to the cyclone family—intense storms with strong winds (more on the definition of “cyclone” here). Although less powerful, the other two types—tropical depressions and tropical storms—can also threaten lives and property, so stay alert for their approach.
Hurricanes are classified into categories based on their wind speeds—the higher the category, the greater the danger:
Don’t underestimate the danger of a cyclone or hurricane just because it’s low intensity. The category only reflects the strongest winds near the storm’s center. Wind gusts define the hurricane’s category, but they aren’t the only risks—floods, torrential rains, tornadoes, and more can cause serious damage. In the video below, we explain how to prepare for their arrival:
How to prepare for a hurricane?
Checklist: survival kit
Below is a downloadable checklist for your survival kit. This list serves as a starting point, so be sure to customize it to fit your needs and those of your family.
Consider keeping multiple kits in strategic places—at least one fully stocked kit at home and another in your car or workplace.
This checklist is based on recommendations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):
Useful links:
- Official Government Guides
- FEMA's Guide to Preparing Your Home
- Official Guide to Preparing an Evacuation Plan
- National Document for Finding Your Evacuation Zone
- Official Guide for Preparing to Evacuate Your Pet
- National Flood Insurance Program (or NFIP)
- NOAA Website to Learn About Your Area's Flood Exposure
- NFIP Website to Assess Flood Risk in Your Area
- Strong Home Scale Website to Understand Your Home's Vulnerability
- FEMA Mobile App
Understand the warnings
Make sure you have multiple ways to receive weather forecasts and alerts. For example, keep a radio handy and follow your local weather service’s social media accounts (if you’re near El Paso, Texas, follow NWS El Paso). You can also activate alerts from the National Hurricane Center for nationwide updates.
An important distinction to understand is the difference between a watch and a warning:
- Watch: Conditions are favorable; impacts are possible.
- Warning: Impacts are expected or currently occurring.
Here is a detailed breakdown of each warning issued by the NWS:
- "A Hurricane Watch means hurricane conditions are possible somewhere within the watch area, with tropical-storm-force winds beginning within the next 48 hours. Prepare by boarding up windows and moving loose items indoors, and make sure your emergency kit is ready. A Hurricane Warning means hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, with tropical-storm-force winds beginning within 36 hours. Seek shelter in a sturdy structure or evacuate if ordered.
- A Tropical Storm Watch means tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 48 hours, a Tropical Storm Warning means they are expected somewhere within the warning area. Remember, a tropical system does not have to reach hurricane strength to be deadly.
- A Storm Surge Watch means the possibility of life-threatening inundation generally within 48 hours, and a Storm Surge Warning means the danger of life-threatening inundation generally within 36 hours. In either case, please promptly follow evacuation and other instructions from local officials.
- An Extreme Wind Warning means extreme hurricane winds (115 mph+) are imminent or happening: take immediate shelter in an interior portion of a well-built structure.
- A Flash Flood Warning means dangerous flash flooding is expected: move to higher ground, and never walk or drive through floodwater. A Flash Flood Emergency is issued for exceedingly rare situations when a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage is happening or about to happen — do NOT attempt to travel unless you are under an evacuation order or your life is imminently at risk.
- A Flood Watch means flooding is possible: stay tuned to trusted news sources and be ready to seek higher ground. A Flood Warning means flooding is happening or about to happen: move to higher ground immediately.
- A Tornado Watch means a tornado is possible: know your safe place and be ready to act quickly if a Warning is issued. A Tornado Warning means a tornado is happening or about to happen - immediately seek shelter in your safe place!"
Two additional warnings: dangerous conditions can arise well before and persist long after a hurricane makes landfall. Also, never underestimate the risks posed by a cyclone or hurricane, even if it’s classified as low intensity.
Watch out after the hurricane!
For comprehensive tips on what to do before, during, and after a hurricane, take a look at this infographic from ready.gov.
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