The first hurricane of the 2021Atlantic season, Elsa, may strengthen as she moves through the Lesser Antilles. Elsa, the first Category 1 hurricane of this season is three weeks earlier than the first hurricane of 2020. Forecasters are predicting that Hurricane Elsa will push either northeast toward Florida or head toward the Gulf of Mexico (the graph shows the possible track of Elsa and her timeline). If Elsa maintains her strength over the weekend, she will become the first July storm to make landfall in the US in almost 100 years (the last US  hurricane in July’s landfall was in 1926). The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicted that 2021 would be an overactive season. The islands of Hispaniola and Cuba could slow Hurricane Elsa down, but she has dry air and wind shear propelling her forward. With this in mind, now is a good time to get your hurricane kits prepared as the season intensifies and Elsa moves toward land. For tips on what you need in your hurricane kit see this link https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/atg/PDF_s/Preparedness___Disaster_Recovery/Disaster_Preparedness/Hurricane/Hurricane.pdf   In the meantime, if you are near a coastline for the holiday weekend be sure you watch the news or get updates on Hurricane Elsa. Have a “Happy – Safe July 4^th” !!!