--- title: U.S. Weather: Amid Fatal Storms, Here's How to Be Prepared description: As a big storm system continues to threaten the U.S., experts share top tips on how to best prepare yourself and your home. canonical: https://time.com/7268239/how-to-prepare-for-a-storm/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-03-14T14:28:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-03-15T17:19:26.000Z article:section: Climate og:title: U.S. Severe Weather: How to Prepare For a Storm og:description: As a big storm system continues to threaten the U.S., experts share top tips on how to best prepare. og:url: https://time.com/7268239/how-to-prepare-for-a-storm/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cfa9db692a77753/6998c4f366d4e3997ccbc4b7/AP25072682034261.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5194 og:image:height: 2922 og:image:alt: California Storms og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Severe Weather: How to Prepare For a Storm twitter:description: As a big storm system continues to threaten the U.S., experts share top tips on how to best prepare. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cfa9db692a77753/6998c4f366d4e3997ccbc4b7/AP25072682034261.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Amid Major U.S. Storm Warnings, Experts Share Tips on How to Best Prepare > Sponsored content. 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A storm uprooted a tree, damaging a vehicle on a residential street, on Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Pico Rivera, Calif. Damian Dovarganes—AP  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Updated: Mar 15, 2025 5:19 PM UTCPublished: Mar 14, 2025 2:28 PM UTC Severe thunderstorms intensified and impacted much of the Midwest region on Friday and into Saturday, with more instances of extreme weather expected throughout the weekend. In an update shared on Saturday morning, [the National Weather Service warned](https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/pwo.html) that an "outbreak of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms \[are\] expected over parts of the Deep South and Tennessee Valley today into tonight." With a vast swath of the U.S. experiencing extreme weather, and storm warnings in place across various states, American Red Cross and other organizations are encouraging people to prepare themselves. “If you're prepared in advance, you're going to be more comfortable to respond when an emergency does happen. You'll be in the know of what needs to get done,” Stephanie Fox, media relations lead at American Red Cross, tells TIME. Amid rising concerns, here are the best ways to prepare for a storm. ## **Secure your home** Before a storm, try to trim trees and cut down branches near your home. By removing branches that are likely to break or fall during a storm, you can prevent them from damaging homes, vehicles, power lines, or causing injuries. Further, it can help prevent a tree from becoming uprooted and falling during a storm, and makes the cleanup post-storm less chaotic. Beyond trees outside the home, the National Weather Service [suggests](https://www.weather.gov/safety/thunderstorm-prepare#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20time%20before,is%20hurt%20during%20severe%20weather.) that those preparing for a storm “secure loose objects, close windows and doors, and move any valuable objects inside or under a sturdy structure.” ## **Effort to stay updated** Those within an affected-area of a severe storm can stay updated with the forecasted storm, its intensity and movement through multiple avenues, whether that be through [NOAA Weather Radio](https://www.weather.gov/nwr/), The Emergency Alert System (EAS), or their local weather channel. Oftentimes, communities have specific ways to send warnings, from outdoor sirens to alerts via smartphones. By learning how your community alerts residents to severe incoming weather—including warnings for storms and tornados tornados—you can make sure you stay updated in real-time. Fox notes that people need to make sure their updates do not just go off during the day, but at night too. “People don't always consider that they need to have something that's going to wake them up,” she says, adding that the NOAA Weather Radio is programmed to emit “a very loud buzzing noise that will absolutely wake up a household in the event that a warning is issued.” ## **Clean your gutters** During a storm, you want your gutters to move as much water as possible, as easily as possible. The best way to ensure this is to clean your gutters _prior_ to the storm hitting, in order to prevent water build-up during the weather event—at which point it likely wouldn’t be safe to go outside and clear any blockages. Water build-up can cause damage to home roofs, and create leaks and structural damage to your home.  A man cleans his house gutters before a storm comes. Nattrass—Getty Images ## **Build an emergency kit** To prepare for a storm—and the days after a storm passes, in which necessities like electricity may still be out—it’s a good idea to build an emergency kit to help you and your loved ones power through. A disaster supply kit includes basic items that your household may need. According to Ready.gov, a national public service campaign formed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) dedicated to educating Americans to prepare for and mitigate emergencies, a disaster kit should include water, food, a flashlight, a first aid kit, a mask, garbage bags, a whistle, a can opener, a cell phone with extra chargers and batteries, and more. You can read the full list [here](https://www.ready.gov/kit). After assembling the kit, Ready.gov recommends keeping canned food in a dry place and storing boxed food in tightly closed plastic or metal containers in order to ensure they remain edible, should a severe weather event or disaster strike. They also recommend keeping a kit in your car, in case you ever become stranded. Per Fox, it’s vital to have a “stay-at-home kit” that allows a household to navigate about two weeks in the house under emergency circumstances, and then a “to-go kit” that people can use if they have to evacuate, which should have enough resources to cover three-to-five days.  Lightning brightens the night sky as storms continue to cross the region on Aug. 23, 2024 near Shiprock, New Mexico. David McNew—Getty Images ## **Locate the nearest shelter** [According to the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hurricanes/safety/index.html), one way to prepare yourself in the event of severe thunderstorms is to locate your nearest shelters ahead of time and map out the safest routes to reach them. “If \[people\] live in mobile homes or campers, those are not safe when we get these types of outbreaks,” Fox says. “So it's really important for folks to identify if they have a community shelter. Maybe they can visit friends or family overnight.” The idea is to be out of harm’s way when the peak of the threat is expected. According to Randy Bowers, meteorologist at the National Weather Service, this also means planning for which room in your shelter or home will best protect you in the event of a bad storm—especially as large hail storms mean people should stay away from windows. “\[The safest room\] is usually the lower floor of your house. If you have a basement, that's ideal. But if you don't, then \[aim for\] the lower floor in an interior room,” he says. “The idea is to put as many walls between you and the weather outside as you possibly can, and to stay away from windows.” ## **Make your pets a part of the plan** If you have animals or pets, Fox says that they should be embedded in your family’s emergency plan. Make sure their carriers and leashes are accessible, so that when a severe storm—or other emergency— hits, pets can be evacuated with ease, if needed. “If they have any prescription medications, make sure you have an extra supply in your emergency kit—extra food, toys, just anything that your pet may need if you have to be confined to your home for a period of time, or if you have to evacuate,” she says. Fox also recommends making sure that pets are kept inside during storms, in case they get “spooked” by thunder and try to run away. ## **Consider buying surge protectors** According to FEMA’s [preparedness sheet for thunderstorms, lightning, and hail, ](https://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/ready.gov%5Fthunderstorm%5Fhazard-info-sheet.pdf)buying surge protectors, lightning rods, or a lightning protection system can help protect your home’s appliances and electronic devices in the event of lightning strikes during the storm. Bowers says this can be a part of a “long-term plan,” and is something to think about especially if you currently live in, or are moving to, an area prone to storms. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7268239/how-to-prepare-for-a-storm/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7268239/how-to-prepare-for-a-storm/"},"headline":"Amid Major U.S. Storm Warnings, Experts Share Tips on How to Best Prepare","datePublished":"2025-03-14T14:28:51.000Z","dateModified":"2025-03-15T17:19:26.000Z","description":"As a big storm system continues to threaten the U.S., experts share top tips on how to best prepare yourself and your home.","url":"https://time.com/7268239/how-to-prepare-for-a-storm/","keywords":["extreme weather","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cfa9db692a77753/6998c4f366d4e3997ccbc4b7/AP25072682034261.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cfa9db692a77753/6998c4f366d4e3997ccbc4b7/AP25072682034261.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"California Storms","caption":"California Storms","creditText":"Damian Dovarganes—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/extreme-weather/","name":"extreme weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7268239/how-to-prepare-for-a-storm/","name":"Amid Major U.S. Storm Warnings, Experts Share Tips on How to Best Prepare"}}]}] ```