Kit guides
The main preparedness library. Every kit includes the full guide plus its printable checklist.
Be ready before the storm.
If you live on the Gulf or Atlantic coast, hurricane season is part of your calendar. This site covers the preparation piece: what to pack, what to understand, and where to start.
Coastal guides
Start with your coast.
Local risk changes the standard kit. Choose a regional guide for the agencies, hazards, and additions that matter where you live.
2026 season update
Edouard is inland. Flooding remains the main concern.
Updated September 1 at 4 p.m. CDT: Tropical Storm Edouard made landfall near Johnson Bayou, Louisiana, this afternoon and is moving inland across eastern Texas. The National Hurricane Center says gusty winds and heavy rain continue across southeastern Texas, with significant flash flooding possible. Follow alerts from your local National Weather Service office and instructions from local officials.
Edouard is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic season; no Atlantic hurricanes have formed so far. NOAA's August 6 update gives a 75% chance of a below-normal season and calls for 7-13 named storms, 2-6 hurricanes, and 0-2 major hurricanes. The peak months are still underway, and a quieter seasonal forecast does not predict the risk to any one coast.
Preparedness isn't about fear.
It's about care. You prepare because you have people, pets, medications, documents, and routines worth protecting. A hurricane kit is not panic shopping. It's a set of decisions made early enough that landfall doesn't get to make them for you.
Most hurricane content is either frightening or useless. Federal checklists with all the warmth of a legal disclaimer. Affiliate roundups where every recommendation earns a commission. This site is neither: plain-language guidance for Gulf and Atlantic coast households, written by someone who actually thought it through.
No ads. No affiliate links. Just specific guidance, printable checklists, and state pages you can send to someone before a storm is on the map.
Start where you are
Two ways in: start with the coastal guide for your state if you want to understand your local risk first, or go straight to the kit library if you just need a list.
Coastal guides
Use the geography first: local risk, regional supply additions, and the official sources to bookmark before the season.
Storm atlas
Compare selected historical Atlantic hurricane tracks from NOAA/NHC best-track data.
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Editorial note
How this guidance is reviewed
This page was reviewed on September 1, 2026. Hurricane Coast is an independent preparedness project with no ads or affiliate links.
This guidance is checked against Ready.gov, the National Hurricane Center, the National Weather Service, FEMA, and the state or local emergency management sources linked on the page.
Use this page to prepare early. When local officials issue evacuation orders, shelter instructions, weather alerts, or medical guidance, follow those primary sources first.