A recent Speakout Poll showed 81% of voters say we're too far inland to worry about the hurricane threat here in the Brazos Valley, but less than two years ago, Hurricane Ike tore through our area and in many ways, we got lucky.

Several storms in recent memory remind us that things could have been much worse.

On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike made landfall over Galveston as a Category 2 storm, bringing 50-60 mph winds across much of the area. Falling tree limbs resulted in power outages that lasted for nearly a week.

Experts caution residents not to take the threat lightly. With an active season forecast, the Red Cross urges residents to prepare now.

If Ike had hit as a major hurricane, 100 mph winds would have likely moved in, causing massive damage in our Eastern counties.

Hurricane Carla struck as a Category 4 storm before moving into the Brazos Valley in 1961 and in 2005 Hurricane Rita made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, causing widespread flooding along the Texas-Louisiana border.