You’re sitting in class when you hear a huge roar of thunder; the rainstorm is here. When you walk out of class, you see people running in drenched and unhappy, and you know you will be like them soon enough. Being from South Florida I am somewhat prepared for the kind of tropical storms that New Orleans gets. They are often at random times in the day and the forecast rarely predicts them correctly. They can sometimes lighten up, but usually, they are torrential for a solid hour and you just have to deal with it. Here are some ways to prepare for the hurricane season weather:
Always carry an umbrella
I cannot stress this enough- have your umbrella in your backpack at all times. The forecast may look sunny for the week, but you never know when a random storm will pop up and that cute outfit you decided to wear is now soaking wet. BEWARE: while umbrellas are important, when it’s windy you have to be strategic with how you hold it or that umbrella will turn inside out and be useless.
Have a waterproof backpack
You don’t want to learn this one the hard way once all your papers are wet and there is no going back. Invest in a nice, waterproof backpack that will protect all your stuff. While you can still use an umbrella, it usually doesn’t cover most of your backpack and that doesn’t end well. You’ll be thankful you made that purchase when your computer is nice and dry after running to your next class.
If you can, wait it out
Depending on how long it has been raining for, sometimes it may stop or calm down enough that you aren’t completely dripping. If you have a lunch break or a class nearby, give it about 5 minutes to see if it’ll stop or slow down at all.
Don’t wear your Birkenstocks
Even though the forecast isn’t always accurate, if you do see a 50% chance of rain or higher, it may be a good idea not to wear your new Birkenstocks outside. While they are very popular, they are also terrible to walk in if they get wet. I promise, there will be more days to wear them, just switch them out for your favorite rainy day shoes.
Wear rainboots for the McAlister/Freret Lake
Big flooding spots include the intersection across Freret to the Academic quad, the Willow intersection, in front of Newcomb Hall, etc, where you could very well be walking a lot. The water can be knee high so be prepared with rain boots to avoid getting your feet scratched up by unknown objects (you never know).
Bring a sweatshirt
It may feel like a hundred degrees and humid outside (because it probably is), but the classrooms will be cold. If you don’t want to spend your classes wet and shivering, bring a jacket to be a little more comfy.
Although it’s impossible to avoid the New Orleans rainstorms, it is possible to always be prepared. Remember, it floods a lot here, and you don’t want to be one of those people dripping in LBC with no shoes holding your Birkenstocks- McAlister turns into a lake and there’s no way to really avoid it.