Quick answer: To prepare for upcoming weather, check the official forecast and any local instructions first. Then charge essential devices, gather food and water, secure outdoor items while it is safe, coordinate your household, and shift immediately to sheltering or evacuation if a warning or order tells you to act.
What to check first to prepare for upcoming weather
Start with information, not errands. Check the official forecast for your location, the expected timing and hazards, and any instructions from local authorities, utilities, or building management. A shelter direction, evacuation order, or travel restriction takes priority over this checklist.
- Confirm the forecast and alert method. The National Weather Service (NWS) advises checking forecasts, knowing how warnings are delivered, making a communication plan, and identifying shelter ahead of time. Review your usual official local source and make sure your household can receive emergency alerts.
- Identify the action you may need to take. Find out whether the likely response is staying indoors, using a designated shelter, avoiding travel, or leaving if ordered. Do not assume one hazard uses the same shelter or route as another.
- Check essential health and access needs. Gather routine medications, mobility or accessibility items, and information for any power-dependent equipment. Use the backup plan already provided by the clinician or equipment supplier; ask them for guidance if that plan is unclear.
- Account for people and pets. Decide who handles school or care pickup, pets, and household check-ins. Choose a contact and a meeting point that fit the expected hazard and any local direction.
A calm 24-hour weather-preparation sequence
Now: protect information, communication, and options
- Charge phones, battery packs, radios, and essential accessibility equipment according to their manuals. Start early rather than relying on a universal charge percentage.
- Choose a backup way to receive updates if your main phone or internet connection is unavailable.
- Send one simple household message: expected conditions, check-in contact, meeting point, likely shelter location, and pet responsibilities.
- Put flashlights, keys, identification, essential documents, medications, glasses, pet supplies, and footwear in an easy-to-reach place. Keep medications in their required storage conditions unless a pharmacist or prescriber gives other instructions.
- Set aside drinking water and foods you can eat without cooking. Follow any local water advisory instead of relying on generic treatment instructions.
- Check that the vehicle has the fuel or charge needed for likely essential travel while roads, fueling, and charging locations are safe to use. Needs and local restrictions vary, so there is no universal target.
Later: complete low-risk home tasks while conditions are still safe
- Bring in or secure loose yard, porch, and balcony items before wind, lightning, ice, or flooding makes outdoor work unsafe. Close exterior windows and doors.
- If an outage is possible, place appliance thermometers in the refrigerator and freezer if you have them. Make a cooler accessible, freeze water containers or gel packs, and group freezer food.
- The FDA’s outage food-safety guidance says an unopened refrigerator keeps food cold for about four hours. A closed full freezer may hold its temperature for about 48 hours, or about 24 hours when half full. These estimates depend on keeping doors closed; later food-safety decisions depend on actual temperatures and handling conditions.
- Move portable supplies away from areas identified locally as flood-prone. Move a vehicle only before travel becomes hazardous and only to a lawful, appropriate location.
- Save the exact manuals for any equipment you might need during an outage, including backup-power equipment, so the instructions remain available if service is interrupted.
When a watch, warning, or local order arrives
A watch or similar advance notice is the time to recheck official information, household locations, and any unfinished safe tasks. A warning or local order means the protective action in that message comes first. Stop errands and property-preparation chores; do not go outside to retrieve belongings after dangerous conditions begin.
House and apartment tasks are not identical
H/A means a task suits both houses and apartments. H means it is mainly a house task. A means it is mainly an apartment or managed-building task.
House tasks [H]
- Secure loose objects in the yard, driveway, porch, garage, and other reachable outdoor areas while conditions are calm.
- Check only drains or drainage paths you can safely reach from ground level. Do not climb ladders, trim trees, or take on heavy repairs as conditions deteriorate.
- If you own a portable generator, review its exact manual before an outage. The CPSC says portable generators must be used outdoors, at least 20 feet from the house, with exhaust directed away from buildings and openings. Never use one in a garage, carport, porch, or other enclosed or partly enclosed location. Follow the model manual for all operating and wet-weather electrical precautions.
Apartment tasks [A]
- Remove or secure balcony items without blocking an exit. Do not operate a portable generator on a balcony, in a hallway, or anywhere inside the building.
- Save management and maintenance contact details. Check building notices for entrance access, parking, elevators, outages, and any designated shelter arrangements.
- Ask management how accessible shelter or evacuation access will work if elevators are unavailable. Follow the building’s emergency plan.
- For a tornado threat, confirm the designated shelter and its access rules before a warning. NWS apartment guidance discusses identifying a low-level, interior, windowless location, but a resident should not assume that every common room or stairwell is an approved building shelter.
Make only the adjustment that fits the hazard
- Damaging wind or tornado: Prioritize a confirmed shelter location, working alert methods, and loose outdoor items. When a warning is issued, move to the location directed by the alert rather than continuing preparation.
- Flooding: Prioritize official evacuation information, safe routes, and moving essential supplies or a vehicle before travel is affected. Local authorities determine whether and when to evacuate.
- Winter weather: Review the household’s safe heating and outage plan, place warm layers where they are easy to reach, and reconsider nonessential travel. Use fuel-burning equipment only as its instructions permit.
- Extreme heat: Identify a safe place household members can stay cool if home cooling or power fails. Address power-dependent health needs with the relevant clinician or equipment provider before conditions worsen.
Do not substitute this general checklist for hazard-specific local instructions. The NWS severe-weather preparation guidance supports checking forecasts, warning methods, communication plans, shelter locations, and loose outdoor objects; local authorities and building management determine the action for your location.
Printable 24-hour household checklist
| Task | Now | Later or watch issued | Warning issued | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm official forecast and local instructions | □ Check hazards and timing | □ Recheck updates | □ Follow the alert immediately | H/A |
| Review health, medication, pet, and accessibility needs | □ Confirm established plans | □ Place essentials together | □ Take needed items if directed to move | H/A |
| Charge essential devices | □ Begin charging | □ Recheck backup power sources | □ Take devices if sheltering or evacuating | H/A |
| Set the household communication plan | □ Choose contact and meeting point | □ Confirm locations | □ Send a brief update when safe | H/A |
| Prepare food, water, ice, and coolers | □ Gather supplies | □ Keep appliance doors closed | □ Defer kitchen chores | H/A |
| Secure yard, porch, or balcony objects | □ Bring in loose items | □ Finish only if safe | □ Stop outdoor work | H/A |
| Confirm shelter or evacuation plan | □ Identify and share it | □ Clear safe access | □ Use it as directed | H/A |
| Ready the vehicle and portable essentials | □ Check keys and fuel or charge | □ Park appropriately if safe | □ Do not travel unless directed and conditions permit | H/A |
| Check building notices and access | □ Save contacts | □ Confirm access and shelter rules | □ Follow the building plan and official alert | A |
| Review generator or equipment manuals | □ Save exact instructions offline | □ Stop if safe setup is not possible | □ Never improvise placement or operation | H |
No checklist can set a universal charging target, fuel quantity, or deadline for outdoor work. Conditions at your location, official directions, and the exact equipment manual take priority.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do first when severe weather is in the forecast?
Check the official forecast, alert information, and local instructions before shopping or working outside. Then confirm your household’s shelter or evacuation plan and any power-dependent medical, accessibility, pet, or pickup needs.
Should I finish securing outdoor items after a warning is issued?
No. Once a warning or local order calls for protective action, stop property-preparation chores and follow the alert. Secure outdoor items only while conditions remain safe.
- Simple checklists and realistic planning
- Water, power, lighting, and pantry basics
- Family plans (kids, pets, seniors) and seasonal prep
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