🌊 HURRICANE SEASON 2026: DON'T WAIT FOR THE WARNING

By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
📍 August 2026 | #ClimateJustice | #Preparedness | #ScienceMatters

The season is here. Are we ready?

Last year, I wrote about the devastating Texas floods and raised a question that I still believe we need to ask:

What happens when the systems designed to warn us are weakened?

Now it is August 2026.

Hurricane season is already underway, and we are entering the months when Atlantic tropical activity typically reaches its peak.

That doesn't mean a major hurricane is coming to your community.

It means this is not the time to assume we're safe because today's forecast looks quiet.

NOAA's latest outlook actually calls for a below-normal Atlantic season overall: 8–14 named storms, 3–6 hurricanes and 1–3 major hurricanes. But NOAA makes an extremely important point: a seasonal outlook cannot tell us where a storm will make landfall.

It only takes one.

And Canada knows that too. Environment and Climate Change Canada says that, on average, three or four tropical cyclone events affect Canada each hurricane season, with one or two making an impact on Canadian soil. August and September are particularly important months.

So let's talk about preparedness.

🚨 DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE SKY TURNS DARK

A hurricane is not just wind.

It can mean:

🌊 Storm surge
🌧️ Torrential rainfall
🏠 Flooding
🌲 Falling trees and debris
⚡ Power outages
🛣️ Washed-out roads
📡 Communications failures
⛰️ Landslides
🚨 Evacuations
💧 Contaminated water

And the effects can travel far beyond the place where a storm first makes landfall.

The remnants of tropical systems can bring dangerous rainfall and flooding into parts of central and eastern Canada. Rarely, tropical cyclone remnants can even affect British Columbia.

📱 YOUR PHONE IS NOT YOUR ONLY WARNING SYSTEM

This is something I really want people to think about.

What happens if the power goes out?

What happens if the cell towers go down?

What happens if your internet disappears?

What happens if you're asleep when an alert arrives?

Don't depend on one technology.

Know where your local emergency information comes from.

Keep a battery-powered or hand-crank radio if you can.

Keep your phone charged.

Know how to receive official weather alerts.

Know your evacuation routes.

And make sure the people you care about know what the plan is.

Canada's emergency-preparedness guidance specifically recommends emergency kits, household emergency plans and multiple ways of receiving weather information, including WeatherCAN, local broadcasts and Canada's Alert Ready system.

🧳 HAVE A GO-BAG BEFORE YOU NEED ONE

Don't wait for an evacuation order to start wondering where your medications, identification, important documents, flashlight, charger, food, water and pet supplies are.

Put the essentials together now.

If you have pets, include them in the plan.

If you have elderly family members, children, neighbours who live alone, or anyone who may need extra assistance, think about them before an emergency happens.

Preparedness isn't panic.

Preparedness is love.

🌎 AND THIS IS BIGGER THAN HURRICANES

We are living through a period when communities are being challenged by wildfire, extreme heat, floods, storms and other rapidly changing hazards.

I've watched wildfire situations in British Columbia this summer.

I've watched communities elsewhere face floods and evacuations.

And I've learned something from all of it:

You don't get to choose the disaster.

But you can choose whether you're prepared.

That's why I will continue to defend science, meteorologists, emergency planners, first responders and the people whose job it is to watch the skies, oceans and changing conditions.

These people aren't an unnecessary expense.

They are part of our safety infrastructure.

🕊️ PLEASE TAKE THE WARNING SERIOUSLY

I'm not writing this to frighten people.

I'm writing it because I would much rather see someone prepare unnecessarily than discover during an emergency that they didn't have a plan.

Check on your family.

Check your emergency supplies.

Know your local alerts.

Know where you would go if you had to leave.

Don't ignore an evacuation order.

And don't assume that because a hurricane isn't headed directly toward you, you have nothing to worry about.

Weather doesn't care about political boundaries.

Water doesn't care about property lines.

Wind doesn't care whether we're ready.

Listen to the scientists. Listen to the warnings. Prepare early.

Because the best emergency response is the one that begins before the emergency.

🌊 Stay safe.
🕊️ Stay informed.
❤️ Take care of one another.

— Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

#HurricaneSeason2026 #ClimateJustice #ScienceMatters #EmergencyPreparedness #WeatherWarnings #DisasterPreparedness #ClimateResilience #HurricaneSafety #ListenToScientists #StaySafe