What board up windows with a strong cane anyway???

[NCWeatherChic]

Just curious, I seen on the news that Floridians are boarding up windows already. No matter where this monster makes landfall, if it is so strong, why even bother boarding windows. Seems like a waste of money if you are so close to the coast anyway. Can't see how the plywood will help during a Cat 4 or 5. I can see doing this further inland, but on the coast? Maybe it is just my thinking.

[obxhurricane]

Structural integrity...meaning if you can keep holes from developing in your home, you have a much better chance of keeping the roof on. At least that's the theory, and it generally works for homes constructed within the last 20 years or so.

[bahamaswx]

Indeed true, but in Andrew I've seen aluminium shutters being ripped away from windows with ease.

[msbee]

well,you do whatever you can to protect yourself.

[StormWatcher2]

Keeping the wind out increases the chances that the structure will survive. After the windows/doors fail it becomes pretty dicey as to whether or not the building will remain intact.

[wxman57]

Well, if you're absolutely 100% sure that your home will be hit by the max wind band of 140-160 mph, then it's history no matter what. But let's say that the eye wobbles 20-30 miles before it hits you and your home only gets hit by 80-100 mph. That's strong enough to blow a few shingles off the roof, but the house would remain intact. That is, unless the structure was breeched by a window or garage door failure. In that case, even a sub-75 mph wind could totally destroy your home. So you board up for the 50-120 mph winds on the outer parts of the core of a Cat 4-5 hurricane, hoping that the eyewall doesn't go right over you. Also remember that in many cases, the max winds in a hurricane don't completely encircle the eye. Sometimes it's just a matter of luck.

[galvestonboi]

We failed to board up our windows during Hurricane Carla and our house imploded when the windows were blown in. Nothing left. Strongly suggest boarding up or at a minimum taping.

[inotherwords]

Our local meterologist said don't bother with taping. Says it's useless. Boarding/shuttering is to prevent projectiles from breaking your windows. Tape won't do that.

[Aimless]

We added siding this year....... am having a heck of a time covering the windows. Any hints???

[shorrock]

Our local meterologist said don't bother with taping. Says it's useless. Boarding/shuttering is to prevent projectiles from breaking your windows. Tape won't do that.

All of the hurricane guides in south Florida say it's at best, a great way to pass time, peeling off sticky residue from your unbroken glass on a hot, humid day.

[Mattie]

Here's a link that tells you what to expect during each category of storms -

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml

[Aimless]

My daughter's 6th grade science experiment : We obtained uniform squares of window glass and taped them with various types of tape. She built a huge tripod and suspended a base ball on a rope.... Pulled back the baseball as far as possible and swung it into the glass. ... results... nothing helped, however, duct tape left the neatest pile of glass shards.

[opera ghost]

See Aimless- that's what I always thought the tape was there for *Laughs* I had nightmares as a kid (in Dallas where there are more tornados than hurricanes) that something would fly through the window and the glass spray would kill me. Seems kinda silly looking back on it, but I'm one of those people who would tape over the entire window just to keep the glass from coming for me LOL