Louisiana has four seasons: hunting season, crawfish season, football season, and hurricane season. The hot air and warm water of the summer is a perfect recipe for a hurricane. Every year, disaster strikes south Louisiana and the gulf coast. But preparing and tracking a storm doesn’t have to be a disaster. There are several useful smartphone apps available, for free, that you can use to track and prepare for a storm.
Hurricane by American Red Cross: This app helps users monitor weather conditions, track storms, and find assistance. The app also claims to let others know the user is safe. In the Google Play and iTunes store, this app has a rating of 4 stars.
MyRadar NOAA Weather Radar-The MyRadar NOAA Weather Radar app displays weather radars around your location. This app allows you to see weather in real time, using a Doppler radar from the National Weather Service. This app boasts that it can offer users the most accurate and up-to-date weather information available. MyRadar NOAA Weather Radar has a 4.5 star rating in both the Google Play and iTunes stores.
Way to Geaux-Although Way to Geaux is not a weather tracking app, it is a great app for driving. Way to Geaux is a Louisiana Department of Transportation travel advisory app. It constantly updates as the user drives, which keeps the user aware of any road blocks, closures, and advisories nearby. This app would be great for people evacuating during a storm. This app has a rating of 3 stars in the Google Play and iTunes stores.
Hurricane Central WDSU-New Orleans, Southeast Louisiana-This app is brought to users by local news station WDSU 6. The Hurricane Central WDSU app allows users to access maps, forecasts, radar, and “contraflow evacuation”. This app also provides a meter to determine if the user should be concerned about storms reaching their homes. The Hurricane Central WDSU app has a rating of 4 stars in the Google Play and iTunes stores.
If you do not own a smartphone or tablet, fear not. You can still get localized information about hurricane season from your local library. Each library in Lafourche parish has various pamphlets, information sheets, brochures, and guides for preparing for a hurricane. The library’s website also has a wealth of information available for free. To access hurricane preparedness and resources, go to the library’s website, www.lafourche.org . Under the Research and Learning tab, select Useful Websites. On the Useful Websites page, select Hurricanes. On the Hurricane Preparedness and Resources page, there are 3 website links:
Lafourche Parish Hurricane Preparedness /Emergency Resources Page-Lafourche government hurricane preparedness, evacuation, recovery information, and more.
Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness- website for Louisianans to use to prepare their homes and their families for a potential hurricane this hurricane season. The “Get a Game plan” hurricane preparedness site is focused on providing Louisianans with the information and tools they need to prepare for a possible hurricane in their area.
Louisiana Emergency Site-Official Louisiana government site for information about its response to the oil spill, general information for the public, and updates for the media.