News of interest to residents of Gloucester, Mathews and thousands of other communities on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts: “Above-normal Atlantic hurricane season is most likely this year.”

Sigh. We have heard this before. There is some usefulness in knowing that the tropics may be more, or less, active than usual. But a busy season, or slow season, makes no difference until the hurricane’s eye is pointed at your front door.

Enough scares pop up from year to year that the initiated (hurricane veterans) know how to get ready. Here is a truth that people who never lived through a hurricane need to know: being prepared does not keep the trees from falling, the tide from rising, the rains from flooding, the winds from shrieking, and the power from going out for days on end. Preparation helps mostly with the long, weary aftermath.

All the same, it is a good thing to have everything ready for a hurricane, and if the forecast of a busy season makes more people get their act...