We can see the hurricanes coming while it is still days away.

None of us understand how you "Worst Coasters" can deal with the constant threat of unannounced earthquakes!!!!!

"...None of us understand how you "Worst Coasters" can deal with the constant threat of unannounced earthquakes!!!!!..."

Some of us survive long enough to retire, fire up the motorhome, and go to greener pastures (and ground that does not move) for a while...

Black Wulf is right on target. Most all preps should be done further in advance. Purchases of supplies can take up an amazing amount of time that can be put to better use in an approaching storm...believe me, after living in the Keys for 30 years I've been through more than my share of hurricanes. Murphy tends to rear his ugly head. A strained back or twisted ankle can put a big crimp in your alloted time frame for shutter installation.
The other thing that is missing is any consideration of bugging out. I don't know your situation, it may be that is not a nessesary option due to your geographical location but for anyone who needs that option it should be considered early and taken advantage of early. 48 hours out is about perfect in my situation, much later an I run into the traffic and fuel shortage problems.
I commend you Wildman for taking the time to think things out and plan for your family. Remember when dealing with hurricane planning earlier is ALWAYS better.

Didn't see anything for power generation on your list, unless that was implied by your remark about filling your gas cans (if it was, just ignore the rest ).

My parents went through Rita, and the nightmare for them was the heat and humidity without power (that, and the loss of their fish without power). Hurricanes are tropical systems driven by sweltering heat and humidity, and southeast Texas isn't a fun place in the summer to begin with. Heat can kill.

Depending on your power needs, there are a number of options. I'm up in Iowa, but I made good use this winter (when an ice storm took out or power for 24 hours) of one of those DC inverters that you hook into a car's cigarette lighter slot. They cost almost nothing, and having a couple hundred watts at your disposal can turn a miserable situation into an enjoyable one. You could run an oscillating fan, a couple CFL light bulbs (or even more diode bulbs), and a laptop for entertainment.

If you want more power, you could invest in a diesel generator. They're pricey, but if you live in Hurricane Central, it might not be a bad idea.

If you have a generator, you might want to put "testing it" on your HurCon 5 list.

You definately need to consider the garage door. Unless it's up to recent code, it's one of the weakest points on the house.

If you have any pine trees that can fall and hit your house, I'd cut those suckers out. I've seen at least 50 toppled pines for every downed oak tree.

As "post whorish" as this sounds, perhaps we should try to keep this topic near the front of the list. If we add comments, ideas, and suggestions about our experience, and things we have found that work, it could turn into a pretty good hurricane prep topic. Anyone have opinions on this idea?

Copy and paste the checklist to a word processing file.

Re-arrange the different items on the checklist to suit your own personal beliefs and the local conditions that you live with.

Add those suggested items from the forum to that place on the checklist where you believe those items belong.

When one can see the (potential) disaster approaching, one can take the logical steps at the logical times to be ready to either weather the storm or Lock down and run for it!

Our local paper ran a front page story telling people to get ready. We'll see if anyone is listening.

A consideration would be to prune weak branches on your trees. Not only would you stop them from becoming shrapnel, but the less surface area the tree has, the less wind it'll catch, and the less stress it should have on its trunk.

Oh, a tip my parents mentioned from Rita, although you probably already know this, and it only applies if you have a pool: Anything that can tolerate being water logged that you don't want in your house and will sink, throw it in your swimming pool. Things in the bottom of a pool don't blow away My parents did that with all of their patio furniture and outdoor decorative items that they were worried about.

Hi wildman800

Intel for the HurCon Checklist seems to be crucial in making decisions. Making informed decisions about the track of an impeding Hurricane I think is very important. Why not get intel from Satellite imagery as quick as the pros by registering at http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/
and gain access to the Geostationary Satellite Archive. Lots of high resolution satellite imagery covering the whole world including the US.
Its FREE to register and could be a useful resource.