Hurricane preparedness checklist for 2026.

Most hurricane checklists collapse two different timelines into one list, which is exactly backwards. The work that takes time — cutting plywood, buying shutters, checking your evacuation zone — has to happen before the season, while you still have time. The work that takes minutes happens when a watch is issued, not before. This checklist is ordered that way on purpose.

Before hurricane season: the once-a-year checklist

• Know your evacuation zoneZones are drawn from surge modeling, not distance from the water. Look yours up now and write it on your emergency plan — you won't be able to work it out during an order.
• Choose and document your opening protectionNOAA's own guidance ranks it plainly: "permanent storm shutters offer the best protection for windows." If you're using plywood instead, it must be at least 5/8 inch, exterior grade or marine plywood — interior-grade delaminates when wet — cut to fit and labeled per window before the season.
• Buy fasteners that reach the framingScrews or lag bolts long enough to penetrate the studs around the opening, not just the siding. Buy them with the plywood, at the same time.
• Check your fourteen-day water storeOne gallon per person per day is the federal floor; this book uses two weeks as the planning figure for larger regional events. See our full go bag checklist for the portable version.
• Ask your insurer about mitigation creditsSeveral states legally require a discount for a documented, mitigated home. It's carrier-specific — ask before the season, not during a claim.

When a watch is issued: the twenty-minute checklist

A watch means conditions are favorable — be ready, and this is when you do the things that take time. A warning means it's happening or imminent — act now, stop preparing.

• Fill every container in the housePots, pitchers, both bathtubs, the washing machine, buckets, the cooler. This water is for flushing, washing, and cleaning — where the volume actually goes.
• Fuel every carAnd put your documents in one of them.
• Brace the garage doorA double garage door is the largest unsupported surface on most houses and a common structural failure point.
• Install shutters or plywoodAll openings — including doors, skylights, and the garage — need protection to earn most mitigation credits. A single unprotected window can void it.
• Charge everything and top up medicationPhones, battery banks, and any prescription buffer you haven't already stocked.

Reading the cone correctly

The hurricane cone shows the probable track of the storm's center — it does not show where the impacts are. Hazards extend far outside it, sometimes hundreds of miles, and the cone is drawn so that roughly two-thirds of historical forecast errors fall inside it, meaning the center itself lands outside the cone about one time in three. Read the surge inundation maps and rainfall forecast instead — rainfall is frequently the deadliest element, and it's unrelated to the storm's category, which describes wind only.

Not ready to buy? Get your free state packet instead — your state's specific hazards, agencies, and mitigation rules.

See also: go bag checklist, home inventory for insurance, and your state's hurricane risk in our state guides.