Guide · Family & Community
Hurricane Season 2026: What to Know If Your Family Is on the Island
You can't stop a storm from four countries away. You can make sure your family has a plan before one has a name.
Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and 2026 forecasters are calling for an above-average year — on the order of 13 named storms across the basin. Not all of those threaten the Dominican Republic directly, but the anxiety of watching a forecast cone from abroad while your family rides it out at home is real, and a little preparation goes further than most people think.
📆 When the season actually peaks
Storm activity in the Atlantic basin is heaviest from mid-August through October, with September historically the busiest single month. Early-season quiet doesn't mean the season is off to a mild start.
📡 Where to get real alerts, not WhatsApp forwards
The Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia (COE) is the government's official coordinating body during a storm, and issues the alert levels (verde, amarillo, rojo) by province. INDOMET runs the national forecasting and its "Infórmate a Tiempo" public campaign. Both are far more reliable than a screenshot circulating in a family group chat.
📱 What to do before a storm has a name
Agree on a family check-in plan now: who calls whom, a backup contact outside the storm's path, and a plan for when cell networks get overloaded (text and messaging apps tend to get through when voice calls don't). Keep copies of important documents accessible remotely, and know in advance how you'd send emergency funds if it came to that.
Do this now, not during a watch: agree on the family check-in plan today. During an actual storm, networks get congested and decisions made in a panic are worse than ones made calmly in July.
Official sources: Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia (COE) for real-time alert levels, and INDOMET (Instituto Dominicano de Meteorología) for forecasts and the "Infórmate a Tiempo" campaign.
Sources
1. INDOMET, 2026 Atlantic hurricane season outlook and "Infórmate a Tiempo" public awareness campaign. 2. Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia (COE), provincial alert-level protocol, accessed July 2026.
Criollo News guides are practical explainers, not emergency management advice — during any active storm, follow the real-time instructions from COE and local authorities, not this guide.