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Subject: C6) During a hurricane are you supposed to have the windows and doors on the storm side closed and the windows and doors on the lee side open?

Contributed by Chris Landsea (NHC)

No! All of the doors and windows should be closed (and shuttered) throughout the duration of the hurricane. The pressure differences between inside your house and outside in the storm do not build up enough to cause any damaging explosions. (No house is built airtight.)

The winds in a hurricane are highly turbulent and an open window or door - even if in the lee side of the house - can be an open target to flying debris. All exterior windows should be boarded up with either wooden or metal shutters.

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