We're Inland, Not Immune: A Plain Hurricane-Season Checklist for Greater Magnolia

The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs June 1 through November 30, but the part that keeps emergency managers awake is the stretch we are walking into now. August, September, and October are when the Gulf does most of its damage. Magnolia sits about 60 miles inland, which feels safe until you remember that our worst storm days come from rain and wind that traveled a long way to get here.

You do not need a bunker. You need a few boring things handled before a name is on the map, because the week a storm is coming is exactly when the stores run out and the lines get long.

Water and power. The standard guidance is a gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, plus food that does not need cooking. Add a battery or hand-crank radio, flashlights, and a power bank for phones. If anyone in the house depends on a medical device that needs electricity, plan for that now, not during the outage.

Papers and meds. Keep IDs, insurance policies, and a few days of prescriptions somewhere you can grab in two minutes. Photos of your documents on your phone count. So does a full gas tank when a storm is a few days out.

Know before it comes. Sign up for Montgomery County's emergency alerts through the county Office of Emergency Management so warnings reach your phone. Ready.gov has a full checklist if you want one. And decide ahead of time: if the word is evacuate, where do you go and who do you call. The plan is easy to make in July. It is nearly impossible to make in a hurry.

Most seasons, none of this gets used. That is the point of it.