Are you ready for hurricane season?

 

It's that time of year again -- we are fast approaching on hurricane season.

"We've had many years without a hurricane so there may be tendencies to be complacent but we can get a hurricane here on the Texas coast any year and the best thing you can do is review your plan now, build your kit, get ready just in case for if we have a hurricane," says Dan Reilly with the National Weather Service.

A team of meteorologists met in Nassau Bay on Thursday night to speak to the public about what they need to do to get ready for the season.

"Once you get into the heart of the hurricane season, we are talking about August and September sometimes these storms can pop up very quickly," says Mark Mathiesen, president and chief meteorologist for On The Mark Weather.

Their advice? Get a go bag ready with the basic essentials, clothing, medicine and important documents. Gather extra water and non-perishable food for your family and your pets. Also, have a plan in place of where you're going to go.  

"Having your plan in place well before the hurricane arrives, helps you know for you and your family where to go and knowing where you're going to evacuate and how you are going to evacuate," adds Mathiesen.

Reilly says that sometimes people tend to stay put if the storm doesn't seem that large, but that in many instances, that is not the best idea.

"We certainly had that with Hurricane Ike," explains Reilly. "People said, 'Oh, it's just a category two, I'm not leaving,' but in reality, we knew it was going to be a big storm surge, very dangerous," says Reilly.

There will be a hurricane preparedness summit at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Saturday, June 3. FOX 26 News meteorologist Lisa Vaughn will be among the speakers at the event.