If you just knocked yourself out decorating your windows with masking tape to get ready for Hurricane Irene, you may not want to read this Q & A from the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory's Hurricane Research Division. 

But here it is anyway: 

"Q: Should I tape my windows when a hurricane threatens? 
A: NO! It is a waste of effort, time, and tape. It offers little strength to the glass and NO protection against flying debris. After the storm passes you will spend many a hot summer afternoon trying to scrape the old, baked-on tape off your windows (assuming they weren't shattered). Once a Hurricane Warning has been issued you would be better off spending your time putting up shutters over doors and windows."

Oh well. It does look like the cool thing to do before a hurricane, though.