Hurricane season officially underway: Home Depot, Lowe's happy?

The Atlantic hurricane season officially got underway Tuesday, and while the strongest waves and winds from the season are likely still several weeks away, home improvement businesses are gearing up for profits.

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged significant chunks of Texas and Louisiana back in 2005, Americans living along the hurricane-prone coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and the sub-tropical Atlantic Ocean flocked in droves to hardware warehouse stores like the Home Depot, Lowe's and Wal-Mart to be sure their homes wouldn't be destroyed like those in New Orleans. And with another active hurricane season forecast, Americans look certain to protect their homes by purchasing expensive tools from home center stores once again.

Last year, the Home Depot turned in a $125 million boost in sales from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav. Free home preparedness magazines handed out at supermarkets in Florida contain "must-have supplies" that advise people to purchase flashlights, nails, rope, work gloves, lumber, tools, propane gas tanks and plywood from home center stores.

While climate change may be enhancing the strength of hurricanes due to warmer ocean temperatures, there is no evidence yet indicating that hurricanes are developing directly as a result of global warming. This season, however, 13-14 named storms are predicted, with seven hurricanes and three intense hurricanes among those 13-14 storms.

But regardless of the source, hurricanes are sure to step up summer sales for the Home Depot and Lowe's, and should a hurricane threaten landfall on the US coast, those sales could skyrocket even higher.