NWS Publishes 2025 Hurricane Guide Tailored for SE Texas
The National Weather Service in Houston has published a 2025 Hurricane Guide tailored for the southeast Texas area. The guide includes information about how to prepare for all hazards associated with hurricanes, including strong winds, storm surge, flooding, and tornadoes.
The 38-page guide is filled with helpful tips, explanatory visuals, checklists, evacuation routes, easy-to-read text and helpful links. Whether you grew up in the area or recently arrived, this guide contains updated information for you.
Contents
The guide begins with lists of hurricane names for this and the next four years and a readiness checklist. Next, it discusses changes to familiar National Hurricane Center graphics, including a new 2025 look for forecast cone graphics.
For boaters and beachgoers, the brochure contains a discussion of hurricane surf and rip currents, and why even distant hurricanes can be deadly.
One of the most eye-opening sections discussed how storm surge from Category 1, 3 and 5 hurricanes would affect communities from the Bolivar Peninsula to Matagorda Bay. I was shocked to see that surge from a Cat 5 storm could reach inside Loop 610 through the bayous and up to the Lake Houston Dam.
Next came a series of preparation tips for people who live and work in different types of structures. They include but are not limited to recommendations for:
- Protecting vital records
- Pet safety
- Insurance (before and after the storm)
- Emergency contacts
- Supply kits
- Time-sensitive checklists:
- Actions to take when a storm is in the Gulf
- Final actions to take if leaving
- Final actions to take if staying
- Where to find forecast/emergency information
- Tourist safety
The guide concludes with sections on:
- How people with special needs or disabilities can register for assistance
- Evacuation routes
- Evacuation zones by zip code
- Returning home
- Cleanup
- Emergency management contacts for counties and cities throughout the region
Start Now
This is a great all-in-one guide. You can download the English version here. Or the Spanish version here.
Remember, hurricane season starts in less than a month and storms may strike even before then.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/2/25 with thanks to NWS/Houston.
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