June 1 marks the beginning of hurricane season. Scientists have predicted there could be eight to 14 named storms this year, with six being hurricanes – one to three of which are predicted to be major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher. Local officials in Louisiana are reminding the public that now is the time to prepare in case a storm turns our way.
Resources to help you prepare before the storm:
- Louisiana Get a Game Plan - How to Prepare for Hurricane Season
- Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Guide
- Entergy Operation Storm Ready - Hurricanes
Stay up-to-date with current updates from:
- National Weather Service | National Hurricane Center
- 511LA.org for road conditions and real time traffic or dial 511
- Louisiana State Police or call 800-469-4828
- For non-emergency information call 211
- Report downed trees to 311
- Find open shelters: Text SHELTER and your Zip Code to 43362
- Entergy outage map (includes links to Louisiana, Mississippi and City of New Orleans maps)
- Cleco outage map
- SWEPCO outage map
- Poweroutage.us: Checks for power outages across the country. You can click on individual states and get county-by-county breakdowns
- GridStatus: Phenomenal resource with all the RTO's as a dashboard
- SPP: Quick real time displays for wind forecasts/generation, generation penetration
- MISO markets
- MISO operations: includes wind/solar forecasts, imports/exports, but also most importantly, generation outages
- EIA Grid Monitor: Hourly grid data for each balancing authority in the US. Shows generation by resource type, imports/exports from regions, etc.
What are utility companies doing to prepare?
In a press release earlier in June, Cleco officials said their readiness efforts are part of a year-round planning effort for various weather-related events. This continuous preparation helps ensure the company can respond effectively to potential impacts from tropical systems and other severe weather throughout the year.
During the November LPSC meeting, Cleco’s Mark Kleehammer framed the value proposition in terms of reliability gains versus the costs of restoration during heat storms and the disconnect between outage inconvenience and system hardening. “We’re hardening for storms, and you’re going to see reliability benefits. I think we can bring a lot more value to customers. There are costs incurred when you’re restoring in the heat of a storm. But the biggest issue is when our customers are inconvenienced when their power is out,” Kleehammer said.
In Louisiana, common utility preparation strategies can look like:
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Hardening critical assets - elevating or floodproofing substations, reinforcing interconnections
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Enhancing vegetation management to help reduce calamity-induce outages
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Integration of energy storage, demand response and distributed energy resources during storms
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Proactive planning and operational readiness
The press release noted that Cleco reliability crews are actively removing overgrown and hazardous vegetation from the company’s rights-of-way. Additionally, work recently commenced on Cleco’s largest grid resiliency investment, which aims to harden infrastructure. This work includes replacing electric equipment, undergrounding segments of the system, reinforcing utility poles and elevating substations above flood plains.
Entergy Louisiana notes that hurricane season follows an already challenging start to a year that has included ice storms, severe storms and even wildfires this spring across its entire corporate service footprint. Officials said in a press release that the company has invested in resilience projects, including 59-line hardening projects and 17 substation enhancements through the end of 2025, which they say will keep customer costs low and help support faster recovery time when a storm strikes.
Being prepared for the storm extends beyond capital investments. Entergy employees participated in staging center training, logistics and resource management exercises and a companywide hurricane drill that simulated a major storm making landfall. These sessions helped reinforce consistent procedures, improve coordination across teams and ensure our workforce is fully prepared before severe weather arrives.
You can preparing your storm kit now. The most basic items should include:
- 1 gallon of water per person per day.
- Manual can openers and non perishable food
- Medication and a first aid kit
- Copies of important documents
- Flashlights, batteries, battery-powered radio
- Cash
Don't forget - be familiar with your evacuation routes and if necessary, check out local ferry routes. Once winds hit sustained 30-40 mph, ferries will cease operation and many bridges will close.
Entergy's Operation Storm Ready guide is available to help you prepare for any kind of severe weather living in Louisiana can throw at you. Download it and keep it on hand as a reference in case severe weather strikes your area.
Tips to be prepared
From the Office of Congressman Clay Higgins (Louisiana District 3)
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Make plans to protect your property. Shutter or cover windows to prevent them from breaking. Bring lawn furniture, toys, trash cans, and other objects indoors.
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Know where to go. Learn evacuation routes and contraflow procedures. Determine where you can stay and how you would get there if you need to evacuate. Find evacuation routes here.
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Gather personal documents, including Social Security cards, proof of residence, insurance policies, wills, deeds, birth & marriage certificates, etc. Make a record of these and all valuable possessions.
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Keep your automobile fully fueled in the event that gas supply becomes scarce or pumps lose operational capacity.
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Put together a go-bag: disaster supply kit, including a flashlight, batteries, cash, first-aid supplies, medications, and copies of your critical information.
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If you are not in an area that is advised to evacuate and you decide to stay in your home, plan for adequate supplies in case you lose power and water for several days and you are not able to leave due to flooding or obstructed roads.
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If you are receiving Social Security or Veterans Benefits make sure you have direct deposit. This will ensure you receive all of your benefits if you have to evacuate. The Social Security Administration’s telephone number is 1-800-772-1213 or visit their website.
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The Veterans Administration’s telephone number is 1-877-222-8387 or visit their website.
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Know how to shut off utilities. Know where gas pilots are located and how the heating and air-conditioning system works. If you have any questions, contact your local utility company.
Additional resources by parish
- Lafourche Parish - Emergency Alerts Sign Up
- Terrebonne Parish Emergency Preparedness
- St. Bernard Parish Office of Emergency Management
- St. Mary Parish - Prepare for a Hurricane
- Orleans Parish/City of New Orleans | NOLA Ready
- Jefferson Parish - Prepare Before the Storm
- St. Tammany Parish - Hurricane Evacuation Resources
- Cameron Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness
- Vermilion Parish
- Plaquemines Parish Storm Tracker Portal
- Lafayette Parish Emergency Notification System
Homeland Security and emergency preparedness files
- Emergency Evacuation Guidelines (PDF)
- Hurricane Evacuation Guidelines (PDF)
- Hurricane Tracking Map (PDF)
- Prepare Your Pets for Disasters (PDF)
- Special Needs Registration Form and Instructions - English (PDF)
- Special Needs Registration Form and Instructions - Spanish (PDF)
- CRI-Head of Household From (PDF)
