Growing up in the upper Midwest, severe weather preps were just a fact of life. We learned at an early age what to do when storms threatened, whether it was a bad thunderstorm in the summer or a blizzard in the winter.
The thing is, bad storms don’t typically pop up out of nowhere. If you pay attention to forecasts, you should have a heads up that something is on the way.
Here are some things we do when we know a storm is coming.
General Severe Weather Preps
One of the biggest hazards with severe weather is a power outage. So, a lot of our severe weather preps seem to center around mitigating that risk.
One of the first things we do is charge all of our devices. These include:
- Cell phones
- Tablets
- Flashlights (many of them use USB rechargeable batteries)
- Battery banks
- Solar generator
This way, we can keep abreast of the news as well as communicate with others if the power goes out. Not to mention provide limited power for appliances and such. Are all of these absolutely critical to survival? Of course not, but they can help make life easier.
Doing laundry is also a good idea. This way, there’s less chance of running out of socks or undies. If the power goes out, I don’t want to have to wash all that stuff by hand.
During summer and fall, we try to stay on top of keeping the gutters and downspouts cleared, but I’ll usually grab the ladder and check them before the storm hits. We’ll also make a run through the yard and patio to make sure everything is secured. The last thing we want is to have something take flight and hit a window.
It’s a good habit to not let your vehicles dip below a half tank of gas, just as a general rule. If we have time to do so, we’ll usually fill up our vehicles ahead of a bad storm. We do this because a power outage isn’t likely to be limited to just our home. If the town loses power, then gas stations won’t be operating.
While we’re out and about, we might swing in to a store and pick up some extra snacks. We’re always pretty well stocked with food, but the good junk food never seems to last.
Winter-Specific Severe Weather Preps
Snow, ice, and cold weather present a few unique challenges that we prep for as well. Ahead of the first significant snowfall of the season, we’ll dig out the snowblower from the shed and start it up to make sure it’s working properly.
Snow shovels are put into position near the front door and garage door, along with buckets of salt to handle icy conditions. I also double-check to make sure snow brushes and ice scrapers are in each vehicle.
We have a standard gas furnace that heats our home, but we also have a small wood stove in the living room. If the storm looks like it might be particularly nasty, I’ll make sure we have plenty of firewood stacked in the garage, so I don’t have to dig it out from the snow.
Severe weather preps can go a long way toward making bad storms merely an inconvenience.
