Spring Season Storm Prep: What You Need to Know

Spring Season Storm Prep: What You Need to Know

April 4, 2017

Spring weather in Iowa is notoriously fickle, which makes storm prep critical this time of year. It just takes a little time and organization to safeguard your family.

Check out these ideas to keep your family safe in a crisis: 

  • Put together at least three days worth of emergency food and drinking water. Each person should have one gallon per day. Canned and ready-to-eat meals store well and some are palatable at room temperature. Energy bars, dried fruit, peanut butter, and whole-grain crackers pack plenty of calories and nutrition as well.
  • Have fresh batteries on hand for your flashlights and make sure they work.
  • Keep enough cash on hand to buy necessities in the event of a prolonged power outage.
  • Make sure your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors work using battery power.
  • Keep an emergency weather radio handy. They’re available at online stores and local electronics retailers. Operated by NOAA, they give you up-to-date conditions regarding the severity of the weather.
  • Identify and label the circuit breakers for your home’s major appliances. Lightning strikes and power surges can damage these appliances, resulting in a costly replacement. When bad weather is forecast, turn off the circuit breaker for your HVAC system, the refrigerator, water heater, and the washer and dryer. Having the breakers labeled goes beyond basic storm prep since you should turn off the breakers during any electrical outage to avoid the damage power surges cause as utility workers restore it.
  • Bring some pillows and blankets into the basement in the event a severe storm results in a tornado. They will cushion the hard floor and keep you warm when temperatures drop quickly.
  • Consider purchasing a generator if you must have electricity for security or health reasons. A whole-house generator can supply more than one circuit and turns on automatically in an outage.
  • Remove limbs from trees that overhang your roof or are close to windows.

These tips for storm prep give you an edge for staying safe during severe weather events and protect your home and property. To learn more about HVAC system safety, contact Lozier Heating & Cooling, providing trusted HVAC services for Des Moines homeowners.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Des Moines, Iowa area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).