Hurricane Season and Norwegian Winter: Preparing for the Weather You Live With

A year ago this month, Jamaica was still counting the cost of Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island at Category 5 strength in late October 2025. Homes, farms, roads and livelihoods were lost, especially in the west. Recovery is still going on.

Here in Norway, November is when people change to winter tires, check the snow shovel and stock up on firewood. Nobody is surprised by winter. It comes every year, and the country plans for it.

Hurricanes are far more destructive than a Norwegian winter, and it is not a fair comparison. But both countries face weather they cannot control, and both show that preparation is the difference between hardship and disaster.

How Jamaica prepares

Jamaicans know the drill: water stored, tinned food bought, windows boarded, important papers in a plastic bag, radio and batteries ready. The strength of Jamaican preparedness is community. Neighbors check on the elderly, churches open as shelters, and the diaspora mobilizes quickly afterward.

The weakness is that preparation often starts when the storm is already on the radar, when shelves are emptying and prices are rising. And many homes are not built or insured to withstand the strongest storms.

How Norway prepares

Norway’s strength is routine and standards. Buildings are made for the climate. Tire changes happen on schedule. Norwegian authorities also encourage every household to keep enough supplies to manage on its own for about a week in a crisis: water, food, medicine, a battery radio and a way to stay warm.

The weakness is that comfort breeds complacency. Many Norwegians have never needed their emergency kit, and many do not have one.

Why it matters

Being prepared is one of those quiet investments that rarely makes headlines but pays off enormously when it counts. It reduces fear, protects family and frees you to help others instead of needing help yourself. Climate change is making extreme weather more common in both the Caribbean and Scandinavia. Preparation is no longer optional anywhere.

Three lessons

1. Prepare before the forecast. Do it on a calm day, when supplies are cheap and minds are clear.
2. Make it routine. Tie preparation to a fixed date every year, the way Norwegians tie it to tire change.
3. Plan for your neighbors too. Know who on your street is elderly or alone, and check on them.

One action today

Put together a simple emergency box: water, a few days of food, a flashlight, batteries, a radio, essential medicines and copies of your key documents in a waterproof bag. If you live abroad, ask your family in Jamaica what they still need since Melissa.