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What to have before storm season.
Not a long shopping list: the few things that matter when a warning goes up at night, the power goes out, or you're waiting out a storm in an interior room.
A NOAA weather radio
It sounds an alarm for warnings in your county even when the power is out, the cell network is down, or you're asleep. The one alert that doesn't depend on anything else working.
- SAME county coding, so it only goes off for your county
- Battery backup, so it keeps working in an outage
- The "Public Alert" certification logo
Backup power
Storms knock the power out, sometimes for days. A charged power bank keeps your phone (and your warnings) alive; a portable power station, depending on its size, can run a CPAP, a fridge for a while, or a fan in the heat.
- Enough capacity for what you need to run, not the biggest number
- Something you'll actually keep charged: top it up at the start of each season
- For medical devices, check the device's power needs first
Flashlights or headlamps
Outages come at night. A headlamp leaves your hands free; LED lights run far longer than old bulbs. Skip candles: they start fires in the dark.
- One per person, kept where you'd shelter
- Spare batteries of the right size, or rechargeable
A first-aid kit
After a storm, help can take a while to arrive. A stocked kit handles cuts and scrapes from debris until it does.
- Kept with your shelter supplies, not somewhere you'd have to go looking
- Any prescription medicines you'd need for a few days
For your tornado shelter spot
Most tornado injuries are from flying debris. Helmets and sturdy shoes, kept where you'd shelter, protect your head and feet; a whistle helps people find you.
- A helmet for everyone: bike or sports helmets work
- Sturdy shoes for walking over debris afterward
- A loud whistle
And the free part
Get the National Weather Service's warnings for your town by email, or on this device, from Atmostorm. No account, no app.
Get warnings for your town →More on getting ready from the National Weather Service and Ready.gov.