http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/us/ask-the-eye-questions-and-answers-on-hurricane-matthew.html 2016-10-06 00:19:17 Ask the Eye: Questions and Answers on Hurricane Matthew John Schwartz, a New York Times reporter who covers climate change and the environment, is answering reader questions about the storm. === John Schwartz, a New York Times reporter who covers climate change and the environment, is answering reader questions about the storm. John Ask your hurricane questions When was the last big storm to hit Florida, and how does this compare? If Matthew hits Florida directly, it will be the first hurricane to do so since Is there any effective way to cover or protect windows? Masking tape X’s? Plywood? Forget the masking tape. It doesn’t work. You’d be better off spending your time before a storm getting your things off the floor of your basement, in case of flooding. If you don’t already have protective gear like storm shutters or roll-down shutters, big sheets of Those forecast cones are HUGE. Is that where the storm is going? The But using it can be a little tricky. Here are the things to keep in mind. First, the forecast tracks can be wrong! Weather prediction is hard. The area of uncertainty is contained within the cone — those are the solid white and stippled white areas on the map, with the solid white looking out for the next few days, and the stippled part coming on the fourth and fifth days out. Just as important, the cone of uncertainty is not the size of the storm or the damage it can cause: storms can stretch way beyond those white areas. Hi, John. Is it safe to visit my mother in Chestertown, Md.? Will we have a problem finding gasoline? Will the roads be blocked with displaced people Dan, I’ve heard of no evacuation order there yet, and with the storm likely to be turning to the east in the next few days, the risk to the town could be diminishing. But hurricanes often spread well beyond the edges of the cone, and so your mother could expect high winds, a ton of rain to deal with, and the usual run on supplies. If you do go, it’s a good idea to fill the gas tank before you head out. And keep an eye on the I live in Jacksonville, N.C. Should we be looking to evacuate anytime soon? — Jamelia Hello, Jamelia! The risk to coastal towns in North Carolina has lessened a bit in the As you can see, the National Hurricane Center is suggesting that a few days from now the storm will take a sharp turn to the east, which could still mean Jacksonville would avoid a direct hit but could still feel effects of storm surge and heavy rains. Your best bet is to look to local authorities for alerts about whether or not to evacuate. At the same time, it’s a good time to sit down and figure out what your evacuation plan would be, if necessary — know the local hurricane evacuation routes, and figure out where you’ll go while waiting for the storm to pass. And if a call for evacuation does come, take it seriously. Here’s a great page from The maps appear to show prediction that the hurricane will make a radical turn to the right, to the east, out to sea. Why is that predicted? Are probabilities given that instead it may follow a more common path up the coast? — Dick Purcell There are a number of factors at play here, Dick, including potential interactions with Tropical Storm Nicole over the weekend. A meteorologist, Ryan Maue, put out a lovely tweet earlier today showing the dance with Nicole: The