Hurricane Tactics: tips for avoiding hurricanes

Original Post

"The first stage in the development of this type of hurricane is a tropical wave. A tropical wave is a trough at low latitudes. ... 
At the same time it grows vertically, a tropical trough or wave moves westward at speeds averaging 10 to 20 knots. During peak season in the North Atlantic, tropical waves are often seen crossing the ocean in succession from east to west separated by four to eight degrees of longitude.

If you are in the Caribbean during hurricane season, pay careful attention to the wind direction. Any slow and steady change from the normal easterly direction could indicate the approach of a trough or wave.

As a tropical wave approaches, you will see the wind back from east to northeast and north. As the trough passes, the wind will continue to back slowly until it reaches a southeasterly direction. ...

The majority of hurricanes that move from the Atlantic into the Caribbean in August and September follow a west-northwesterly course in low latitudes, often reaching the U. S. East Coast before curving north and northeast. In late September and in October and November, hurricanes are likely to move to the north and east, passing through the Yucatan Channel or over Cuba, Florida, or the Bahamas.

In October and November, movement of hurricanes is often toward the north into the open Atlantic. ...As the hurricane's center recedes from you, barometric pressure rises and winds begin to subside. Seas also subside, but the wind decreases sooner. A fully risen sea can often take days to subside.