Storm Season – Are You Ready

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Storm Season – Are You Ready

Time to gear up for the Atlantic Hurricane Season, spanning June 1 to November 30. Last year yielded 19 named storms and projections for this year indicate an even busier season. It is crucial to be ready. Regardless of whether our area experiences 1 or 30 storms, preparedness is paramount. The following list provides 3 steps you can take to ensure you are ready for whatever this storm season brings our way.

  • Shop Early – Procrastination might work in some scenarios, but not when it comes to hurricane preparedness. Once a storm is looming, stores quickly run out of essentials, gas stations face endless lines and crucial hardware materials like plywood become scarce. Instead of waiting until the last minute, stock up on essentials during your regular shopping trips. Websites like ready.gov offer thorough checklists for your emergency kit, while www.floridadisaster.org shows you how to customize a plan based on your specific needs.
  • Secure Your Neighborhood – Contributing to the safety of your neighborhood is essential during a storm. Clear drainage grates, ditches and swales of debris to prevent water blockages. Trim trees and remove dead vegetation but avoid doing so if a major storm is forecasted as there may not be time for sanitation pickup. Secure loose objects that could become projectiles in high winds like lawn ornaments, trampolines and trellises. Residents within the Lake Worth Drainage District (LWDD) boundary can find more information about the responsibility neighborhoods play have providing community flood control at lwdd.net.
  • Have a Plan – If you plan to evacuate, having an evacuation plan in place is critical before a storm approaches. Identify if you are in an evacuation zone, establish and practice your evacuation routes. Know the location of your designated shelter and visit kidshealth.org for preparation tips for children and pets. Familiarize yourself with your surroundings and support systems to determine the best course of action for the safety of you and your family.

Following these 3 steps, you can better prepare yourself, your family and your community for the potential challenges of hurricane season. Stay informed, stay proactive, and stay safe.

Three hands on a table working a jig saw puzle

Three Groups Working Together

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Within Lake Worth Drainage District (LWDD), flood control is a shared responsibility and achieved through an interconnected, 3-tiered drainage system governed by 3 unique groups of people. Through communication and coordination, these 3 groups can provide effective flood control. The groups are identified as:

  • Neighborhood drainage systems operated by property owners or residential associations
  • Secondary drainage systems operated by LWDD or municipalities
  • Primary drainage system operated by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD)

When it rains, water will flow into stormwater ponds and, if needed for flood control, out through the pond’s discharge control structure into the LWDD canal system. Excess water in LWDD canals will then flow into the primary SFWMD system for potential flood control discharge. Most of the time this drainage occurs unnoticed by the average individual.

Water managers in charge of primary and secondary systems are continually monitoring the weather and canal levels to proactively respond to changes in canal elevations. In anticipation of a heavy rainfall event, water managers will make operational adjustments to maintain appropriate water elevations for flood control. Additionally, throughout the year routine canal maintenance is conducted to provide unobstructed flow in the canal channel and access along the canal rights-of-way. The inspection of control structures, pumps and other infrastructure is also conducted, and repairs or replacements are made.

Property owners and residential associations have a similar role regarding their neighborhood drainage system. They must maintain their drainage infrastructure to ensure that inlets, storm drains, pipes, and discharge control structures are free of potential blockages and working as designed, thus maintaining the flow of stormwater away from their property. An annual inspection of the drainage infrastructure should be made, and repairs should be completed before the start of Hurricane Season on June 1.

Some neighborhood drainage systems have operable discharge controls structures and can request permission from LWDD to open their structure prior to a severe storm. This will provide additional onsite storage capacity within the stormwater pond. Guideline for the operation of neighborhood operable discharge control structures can be found at www.lwdd.net/storm-response.

Coordinating efforts and working together we can provide effective flood control.

Control Structure general

LWDD’s Automated Flood Control

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Water control structures act like dams, allowing stormwater to be released or held back depending on weather conditions. The technology used to operate the Lake Worth Drainage District’s (LWDD) water control structures is called Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA). As the water rises in the canal and reaches a pre-determined elevation, SCADA will slowly open control structures releasing water for flood control. Similarly, as water elevations return to normal levels the control structure gates will close, holding back water for conservation and water supply demands.

This response to changes in the canal system happens automatically and is monitored remotely by staff using mobile devices. However, in anticipation of severe weather, staff can override the automated SCADA system and make manual adjustments as needed. The remote monitoring and operating functions of SCADA eliminate the need for LWDD staff to venture out during dangerous weather conditions to operate control structures, as well as significantly reduce response time.

Automation for more enhanced flood control is just one of the many ways LWDD provides for your safety.

Hurricane Graphic

New Hurricane Tool

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Cone of concern. Cone of dread. Cone of death. The National Hurricane Center’s (NHC) familiar forecast cone map goes by a lot of unofficial nicknames, all of which reflect this undeniable fact: you feel worried if you’re in it and better if you’re not.

That misreading of the forecast cone has made it the subject of some criticism over the years. Emergency managers believe it fails to reflect the risks posed to coastal communities that may be out of the cone one day but in it the next. Also, those in-land may be close enough to the eye of a storm to still experience serious wind damage.

This year, the NHC is rolling out an experimental version intended to address those issues by adding new layers of threats and a lot more colors. The NHC believes the new map better bridges the gap between informing the public and confusing it.

The forecast cone, introduced 22 years ago, has been misinterpreted by the public practically since day one. It’s meant to show the NHC best guess for where the eye of the storm will travel, with a cone around it that follows a formula based on the average errors the hurricane center makes when tracking a storm.

It’s a handy tool for showing where a storm may go. But even a small track shift can translate to a big change for a hurricane that parallels Florida’s long coastline. For example, the relatively minor shifts in the NHC predictions for Hurricane Ian’s path in 2022 led to entire counties in Florida exiting the forecast cone’s shaded area and, in some cases, delaying or avoiding calls for evacuation in response.

Starting August 15, the NHC will publish an experimental second version of the cone, where the inland spots under watches and warnings will also be colored in red and blue. It also will show the wind field of the storm, depicted in a gold tone, showing how far out the damaging winds stretch. This addition should make residents outside the cone more aware of the potential impacts from high winds. For more details on the new forecast cone visit NHC at https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NHC_Cone_Graphic_Change_Announcement.pdf.

Excerpt from: Carter Weinhofer (May 15, 2024), New Hurricane Graphics Better Explain The Dangers of Approaching Storms,  Retrieved June 6, 2024 from https://www.yourobserver.com/news/2024/may/15/hurricane-graphics-dangers-storms

Hurricane Season sign

Only A Month Away

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Florida’s hurricane season begins on June 1 and ends November 30. A typical season will average 12 tropical storms with sustained winds of at least 39 miles per hour, of which six may turn into hurricanes with winds of 74 miles per hour or more. In addition to high winds, hurricanes and tropical storms can bring torrential rainfall. These severe weather events can produce localized flooding that can be exacerbated by improperly maintained drainage systems.

Residential communities and businesses can help mitigate the impacts from severe storms with a few simple steps. One crucial step is the pre-storm inspection and maintenance of drainage infrastructure. Drainage infrastructure can include inlets, discharge control structures, connecting pipes and ponds. Proper maintenance of these facilities will ensure unobstructed flow of stormwater away from homes and fully operational equipment.

Secondly, residential communities and businesses with operable discharge control structures can request authorization from the Lake Worth Drainage District (LWDD) to open these structures prior to the storm. Lowering pond levels before the hurricane arrives can provide additional storage for excess stormwater. LWDD recommends the establishment of a drainage committee whose role is to provide for the maintenance and operation of the community or business’ drainage system. Drainage committees may consist of one or more individuals like board members, residents and/or property managers. All members of the Drainage committee should register with LWDD on its website at www.lwdd.net/storm-response. This registration process ensures the LWDD knows who to contact and where to send important weather alerts and instructions.

During the storm event, follow emergency management instructions via local news and take appropriate actions to keep yourself, family and property safe. For safety reasons most emergency personnel will not be deployed during a weather event. Only when winds have subsided will response operations begin.

Depending on the volume and duration of rainfall, expect streets, sidewalks, driveways and lawns to flood. These areas are designed to function as secondary detention areas and help to keep water away from homes and businesses. This flooding is temporary and will begin to recede after an event has passed. During the storm event LWDD personnel will be monitoring canal elevations and making operational adjustments to major flood control structures. This work can be conducted during the storm via wireless mobile devices and provides instantaneous response to changes in water elevations.

It may be tempting to explore outside but stay indoors after the storm. For your safety and to keep roadways clear for emergency response vehicles, stay inside until told otherwise by authorities. Do not attempt to walk in flooded areas. Flood water may be unsanitary and there may be downed power lines or other hazards that are not visible. Do not drive on flooded roadways as vehicles can become unstable and float in as little as a few inches of water. Additionally, canal banks may fail, and roadways may be affected by sinkholes. The location of roads and sidewalks may not be discernible from canals and life-threatening accidents can occur.

No system, no matter how well designed, is 100% flood proof. The likelihood of flooding depends on several variables such as rainfall volume, ground saturation and local terrain. But collaborating closely with communities, businesses and other water management agencies, LWDD can help keep you and your property safe from flooding.