TAMPA, Fla. — A hurricane is on the way, and you've been told you need to evacuate - that means you've got a lot of bases to cover, in a short period of time, to make sure your belongings and home are safe and secure.
Tampa Bay area residents are currently in this situation as Hurricane Ian approaches.
Naturally, as you scramble, you might be tempted to take some shortcuts to get everything arranged before you get out the door. You might have even heard of one quick trick for your patio furniture - just toss it in the pool.
Makes sense, right? Can't blow away if it's underwater.
But does it actually work like that?
Can you really throw your patio furniture into the pool to keep it from blowing away?
No, you shouldn't try this.
As 10 Tampa Bay Chief Meteorologist Bobby Deskins explains, this is not going to work the way you think it would.
While your furniture might seem safe at the bottom of the pool, if something goes wrong - say, strong enough winds slosh the water out of your pool, and suddenly they're not so secure underwater - they can turn into huge flying objects, with your house the nearest thing for them to crash into. The furniture could also damage your pool if they get whipped around.
Bobby notes that you should take the quick minute to bring patio furniture into your garage, house or other secure building.
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Now is not the time to let your guard down. Make sure you have your plan in place and hurricane kit ready at hand. Check out our full list of hurricane hacks here.