Boy, am I glad I live in the wilds of the North! Although it feels like Florida right now. Take care of yourself! Buy some bottled water too!

What? An "above average" year for hurricanes? What was last year?!

I've never lived in an area prone to hurricanes...what makes hurrican shutters different from any other kind?

Barb,

I bought some today when I went to the store for a few things...just in case.

Jami,

I know what you mean...last year seemed very "above-average". I hope this year isn't just as bad or worse, but it sure seems to be off to an early start.

Hurricane shutters are usually made of vinyl or maybe some sort of metal. You store them away and then put them on the windows if a strong hurricane is coming to keep the windows from being broken by debris or by just the force of the wind. This is important because if a window goes, your roof will get blown right off your house because of the pressure.

During Ivan, all I had to protect my windows was duct tape and I prayed extra hard when I'd hear a particularly strong gust of wind. I have double-pane windows, but I was still really scared of a window breaking. I guess I could get some plywood, but I don't know how to put it on my windows and I don't even know if you can put it on a brick exterior house. I'm clueless when it comes to this stuff.