Open Your Windows!!!

[Ken]

I didn't want this to get lost in the "Hurricane Earl Thread".....

One thing I haven't seen posted on the Forums is the suggestion that you crack open a window - like maybe an inch or so, on opposite sides of your house during high/hurricane winds.

Why? Because doing so will further decrease the very unlikely (but still possible) chance that a window will implode due to winds or changes in air pressure.

Don't open the windows enough that stuff blows around your home. Open it just a crack to neutralize the air pressure. That's all.

[finallyME]

I didn't want this to get lost in the "Hurricane Earl Thread".....

One thing I haven't seen posted on the Forums is the suggestion that you crack open a window - like maybe an inch or so, on opposite sides of your house during high/hurricane winds.

Why? Because doing so will further decrease the very unlikely (but still possible) chance that a window will implode due to winds or changes in air pressure.

Don't open the windows enough that stuff blows around your home. Open it just a crack to neutralize the air pressure. That's all.

Why would it implode? I would expect it to explode. The pressure outside would be the low pressure as opposed to the pressure inside.

[Camp10]

I thought that was more of a tornado survival tactic..thanks for the tip!

[Rick]

Sorry, but it's not the thing to do. Times they are a changin'.

http://www.snopes.com/science/hurricane.asp

[Justin Case]

Sorry, but it's not the thing to do. Times they are a changin'.

http://www.snopes.com/science/hurricane.asp

buzz kill

[Camp10]

Sorry, but it's not the thing to do. Times they are a changin'.

http://www.snopes.com/science/hurricane.asp

I guess this is why you have four of them green things.. Thanks for the info Rick.

[Rick]

And being the Minister of Science I can make hurricanes go where I want them to. The only force in nature more powerful than my potions is Chuck Norris.

[Camp10]

Good..keep it away from me and my tent this weekend!

[Ken]

Sorry, but it's not the thing to do. Times they are a changin'.

http://www.snopes.com/science/hurricane.asp

It's something I've done during every storm I can remember. The curtains barely move. I wish Snopes would have posted their source for the studies they relied on. Did a fast search and couldn't find any authority on the subject.

Now, back to Google..........

[Justin Case]

How about Mythbusters ? http://mythbustersresults.com/hurricane-windows

[Rick]

Don't feel bad, Ken. That was the golden rule for ever and ever. I've done it a bunch of times myself.

[Rick]

Here's a statement from NOAA. It's just one sentence. Do a search on "window".

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html

[Ken]

Like I said, keep your windows closed...........

[Ken]

[crashdive123]

If the hurricane is headed my way, I've got pre-cut and pre-drilled plywood for all of the windows.

[crashdive123]

For hurricanes it is not so much changes in pressure, but rather what has been picked up by the wind and has become missile hazards.

[Rick]

Same is true of tornadoes.

[2dumb2kwit]

Same is true of tornadoes.

...and angry women.

[oly]

...and angry women.

What? the pre-cut and pre-drilled plywood for all of the windows.

[canid]

also note that if your windows are the swinging type, opening outward and do not lock in place, a sudden increase in air pressure can slam them closed, both negating the purpose of opening them in the first place, and potentially breaking them in the process as well.

i'm glad i'm not near the storm: my windows here are more than 20 years worth of painted shut.