ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Every time a hurricane becomes a threat to land, you probably see homes and businesses with giant 'X's" taped across the windows. Many believe that this will prevent the window from shattering into pieces or could help fight against the effects of wind.
Turns out, duct-taped windows are actually kind of dangerous.
According to How Stuff Works, while you're trying to prevent tiny shards of glass from blowing all over your house, you may actually get giant shards of glass held together with tape flying at you instead, which can be much more dangerous. So the choice is up to you, but experts seem to warn against it.
When Hurricane Sandy was ready to make landfall, Gizmodo put out a list of the most common myths when it comes to hurricane preparedness. Taping your windows is on it along with the following:
- Cracking open your windows to stabilize pressure: Nope. As Gizmodo says: "When violent wind gets in, it's going to look for a violent way out. Your windows will be broken from the outside long before your home gets close to any part of the hurricane where the pressure is sufficient to do damage on its own."
- Only boarding up windows that face the water: Because hurricanes are rotating storms, you can never really be sure which way the wind is going to be coming from.
- Leaning against a door or window that's being blown by wind can save it from shattering: If you're doors or windows are bending to the wind, be smart and don't go near them. Period.
HOW YOU CAN PREPARE FOR DORIAN
You can find a list of locations where you can stock up on sandbags HERE.
Build a hurricane kit HERE.
For the latest on Dorian, visit ORLANDOHURRICANE.com.
You can also monitor the tropics with the Fox 35 Weather App.