Tropical Storm Chantal formed Tuesday between Bermuda and Massachusetts, becoming the third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It could bring heavy rain to the East Coast but isn’t expected to be a major threat.

This news is just another reminder that this year’s hurricane season is far from over: we’re not even halfway through the season yet. Looking to prepare your home and family for severe weather? Here are a few helpful resources:

• Get Ready for Emergencies Month
• Be Prepared - Hurricane
• NOAA Weather Radio
• Home Disaster Preparedness Kit 

By law, you are entitled to one free credit check report each year from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

But there are many URLs and advertisements out there that might mislead you to a different “free” credit report. The only site that does offer a free report is AnnualCreditReport.com.

Curious about what you’ll find in your credit report? Find out…

Over six years ago, an F-3 tornado flattened the town of Siren, WI (read the full story about the tornado here). This past weekend, Cheryl Rand told me her story of what happened that fateful day:

“Well, you’ll get to see what are storms are like up here.”

Cheryl Rand’s brother was visiting from out of state and she made a point of mentioning the darkening sky overhead. Thinking it would be nothing out of the ordinary, Cheryl and her family went about their business.

But they did keep a watchful eye and monitored the storm through their windows. At one point, Cheryl opened the door and felt the huge gusts of wind blowing outside. Small twigs were falling from the trees but quickly larger pieces of timber were flying through the air. This was followed by a larger chunk of debris, “about 4 feet wide,” that zoomed through their backyard.

It was then they realized that this thunderstorm was more than just thunder and lightning. Cheryl and her family rushed to get the family dog, Nick, inside the house and they headed to the basement. As they started down the stairs, Cheryl saw the majority of the tornado pass by.

“It only lasted about 30 seconds and then it was over. It basically was just a huge cloud of debris flying by. Amazing,” she said.

Indeed it was. The tornado was half a mile wide and it traveled for 20 miles with wind speeds of 158 to 206 mph, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Leaving a wake of devastation (the town was practically gone) and killing three people, Cheryl and her family were lucky the tornado spared their home and their lives.

Her nearby neighbors were also lucky, although one family needed to call their children to rescue them: the trees had fallen in such a way so that they couldn’t get out of their home.

So why wasn’t there any warning? Ironically, the only warning siren in Siren, WI broke about a month before the tornado due to a lightning strike, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Since then, they have fixed that faulty siren, the town has slowly rebuilt itself and the residents also built a tornado memorial alongside their idyllic lake. A less official memorial is down the road: you can still see a small aluminum boat wrapped around a tree.

More thunderstorms have come and gone since that day in 2001 but Cheryl pays additional attention to the weather reports.

“I’m a little more cautious these days,” Cheryl said.

So if you’re curious to check out Midwestern thunderstorms for yourself, be sure to take extra care (and leave the storm-chasing to the experts!).

Here are a few quick resources on how you can prepare for severe weather in your area:

• Be Prepared - Storm
• Be Prepared - Tornado
• What is a Tornado?
• NOAA Weather Radio (turns on when severe weather warnings are issued - good to have in case the sirens don’t work!)

Sometimes other people just do the dirty work for you!

Today’s neat site is actually more than just one. The team at Lifehacker, a tech and productivity blog, has compiled a very helpful list of web sites that everyone should bookmark…just in case.

Titled “Where to Find Public Records” online, the list includes sites that could help you recover vital records, search obituaries, find licenses and so on. While you may not need this information at the moment, it could prove to be very useful sometime especially after losing important records in a fire, disaster or theft.

Have a suggestion for a neat site? Post it in the Comments section below!

Almost two years after Hurricane Katrina, citizens are still unprepared for major disasters especially along the Gulf Coast, according to a new survey from Harvard University.

Here are some of the survey’s statistics (from USA Today):

Those would not evacuate for a major hurricane:
New Orleans: 14%
Other areas: 32%

Don’t know the location of a shelter in their area:
New Orleans: 61%
Other areas: 38%

Family has not agreed where to meet in case of a hurricane:
New Orleans: 66%
Other areas: 51%

Why is the knowledge of a shelter and a meeting place important? Well, the government can only do so much to help you prepare for disasters. Their job is to provide adequate shelters but it’s your responsibility to know where they’re located and to take care of your family’s safety.

We ran a month-long series in May titled “Get Ready Month” - these blog entries walk you through step by step on how to get prepared for severe weather and disasters of any kind. Click here to learn more.

If you were asked to evacuate your home, would you? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below or at our Stories page!

President Bush had a colonoscopy on Saturday in order to evaluate five polyps found in his colon. Before undergoing the procedure, Bush temporarily transferred the powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney, invoking the rarely invoked 25th Amendment, according to USA Today.

Imagine if you had to undergo surgery or if you were incapacitated. Who would you like to make personal, business and medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself?

If you so choose, you can name that individual in your will or in a health care directive - this is usually referred to as the “power of attorney.” If you choose not to name an individual, there may be legal battles between family members and possibly the state over certain medical or financial decisions (think of the Terri Schiavo case).

Give this matter some thought and consider talking with loved ones and perhaps your lawyer about the steps to naming a power of attorney.

Learn more… 

Just last month, a mother and her 19-month old son were kicked off a Continental flight operated by ExpressJet in Houston. The mother said the flight attendant asked her to medicate her son with “baby Benadryl” because he kept saying “bye, bye plane!”, according to USA Today. (Pilots have the authority to ask anyone to disembark the plane - read here.)

This episode brought the Passenger and Airline Bill of Rights discussion back into the national spotlight. One suggested solution is to start by designating the last few rows of the plane as the “family section.” Others suggest setting age limits for passengers.

So is this a good idea? It would add up to a lot of extra costs and business operations changes for all the airlines. And is it really the children who are the problem? From my flying experience, the truth is I’m more frustrated with parents and other inconsiderate passengers than the children (who don’t know any better)!

Perhaps along with the safety instructions, the flight attendants should also provide a demonstration of proper passenger etiquette and protocol. Until everyone can learn to respect their fellow travelers, perhaps we’ll just have to take some “adult Benadryl” to weather any flight.

• What Airlines Can Do
• Passenger Bill of Rights
• Be Prepared - Air Travel

One of the must-have items in any emergency kit has got to be cash. Why? Well, if the power’s out in your town, you won’t be able to use an ATM and you won’t be able to use your credit card at some stores (those card-swiping machines won’t work!).

So how much cash should you have? That’s up to you. Most recommendations we’ve heard have been between $100-500. If you’ve got a family of eight, however, you might need a lot more than that to meet your immediate needs.

Where should you store your cash? We recommend that you store it in or with your emergency kit. One blog, The Simple Dollar, has a list of 20 great hiding places for extra dough (besides your mattress!). No matter where you hide your cash, make sure you can quickly grab it in an emergency. And you’ll have to remember where you put it!!
How much is enough? And where would you hide it? Write your thoughts in the Comments section below!

This morning, the Minneapolis Police Department called me with the news that the stolen car had been recovered! (For the full story on the stolen car incident, click here.)

We had bets going to see how long it would take to find the car - my mom guessed two weeks, others said three. Turns out it’s exactly four weeks to the day and we did have a chance of it being found: according to the FBI, just over 50% of stolen cars are eventually recovered.

So you’re probably wondering about the condition of the car. The officer said the steering column was damaged (probably to get to the ignition) but other than that, the car is in working order.

What’s next? Well, the car was found in St. Paul, Minneapolis’ city-neighbor, and is currently at their impound lot. We’ll have to pay a fee of about $190-200 just to get the car back (a bit unfair, huh?). Then we’ll have to pay to get it towed to the mechanic, since we can’t drive it. Then who knows what the mechanic might find besides the broken steering column.

This whole incident will probably cost somewhere between $600-1000, not to mention the hours of time we’ve put in making phone calls, filing insurance claims, etc. Chances are we’ll probably junk it (it’s an old car).

So, to save yourself any future trouble (and cash), why not practice some good car theft prevention measures today?

• Be Prepared - Car Theft

My parents are part of the Baby Boomer generation and many of the first members of the Baby Boomer generation are now turning 60. If you have an older parent, you’ve probably thought about who’s going to take care of them when they no longer can care for themselves.

While you’ve thought about long-term care, it’s harder to put planning into action. But you might want to start today…

According to Genworth Financial’s 2007 Cost of Care Survey, the average annual cost of nursing home care is $74,806.

$74,806. For one year of care.

My parents are a ways off from long-term care needs [thank goodness], but in 2025, I’m sure the average annual costs won’t be any cheaper!

If you’re thinking about long-term care planning or talking to a loved one about options, here are a few helpful resources:

• Be Prepared - Senior Living
• Administration on Aging - Elders and Families
• American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA)
• Children of Aging Parents
• Additional Links