Lessons from Hermine's Fury - As Her Rain Beats Against My Windows

Tropical Storm HERMINE is supposedly only a depression somewhere in Central Texas now, yet the rain is pelting my windows facing Clear Lake several hundred miles away.

HERMINE wasn't even a hurricane, yet it is unleashing powerful winds along with the 15" rains drowning Central Texas now. Every time I hear that pelting sound against the panes, I realize how much relief I feel, knowing that I put hurricane film on them as soon as I moved in. I can't imagine how awful it would be to have a breach from a debris strike in the middle of one of these storms.

HERMINE was a "pop up" storm - it went from depression to Tropical Storm in only a few HOURS. There was not the usual advance notice of an approaching storm. That meant a lot of people had to, once again, do the last time "boarding up" with plywood - at the last minute. A lot of people didn't have time to board up.

But our customer's didn't have to board up and they were still protected - with our 8 Mil solar hurricane film, which acts as "invisible shutters" while also cutting down on the fierce Texas solar heat.

We have more storms behind Hermine, rolling off the African coast like a hurricane assembly line. It won't end until November 30 and then starts up again June 1 - six months of every year. It's an annual threat that isn't going to stop. In fact, as the planet warms up the storms get stronger from the extra heat.

Scientists estimate that a 1 degree increase in the Atlantic water temperature could fuel more CAT 4 and 5 hurricanes instead of the 1 and 2's we have been getting. If that happens, our building codes aren't adequate to protect them from damage from these killers. Global warming also means more tornadoes which also hurl debris through windows, causing glass injuries and structural failure for the same reason discovered during Project Safe Windows in Florida.

Project Safe Windows was a study of the 2004 Hurricanes (four in one year!). It found that wind-borne debris breaching a window is what leads to roof loss and structural failure (not to mention internal damages). It certified a death by flying glass and discovered that houses which had security window film survived when houses next door without it were completely destroyed.

That is what Armor Glass hurricane film prevents. It is large missile certified. It is the same film chosen to protect DC federal buildings after 9/11. It also makes your house more burglar resistant.

Hermine is yet another warning that you should not wait to protect your most valuable asset - your home. It does the same for your office. We just put it on some homes in South Texas that took the brunt of Hermine the past couple days.

The rain is still beating against my windows, but it doesn't bother me. And when the blistering sun comes out, my Armor Glass shield will also cut it down to size, along with my electric bill.

Several more storms are rolling off the coast of Africa, including a huge one that could move far enough South to come into the Gulf of Mexico - these usually impact the entire U.S., just like IKE knocked out power all the way to Ohio.

Are you prepared?