A Practical Guide to Household Preparedness

Did you experience outages or other challenges from Hurricane Helene? Just want to feel more prepared for the next extreme weather event? Every home faces different risks depending on its structure, who lives there, its location and the local climate. But no matter your situation, you can still be prepared. Follow these simple tips to make your home safer and more resilient in the face of natural disasters or emergencies.

A home with solar panels covered in snow with an EV parked outside and a blue sky — Joe and Sally Schiller didn’t lose power during Winter Storm Fern thanks to their solar battery system and electric vehicle. Photo by Joe Schiller

General household preparedness checklist

Do you have the right insurance (homeowners, flood, wildfire, etc.)?
Do you have a basic emergency supply kit to cover at least 72 hours (important documents, potable water, nonperishable food, essential medications, a flashlight, personal necessities, etc.)?
Do you know how to escape the home during an emergency (fire escapes, window exits, etc.) and the locations of your nearest urgent care, hospital, fire station and police station?
Have you signed up for local weather-monitoring alerts?
Do you have a battery-powered or hand-cranked emergency weather radio in case your cell phone doesn’t work?

Know your specific weather and climate risks

From wildfires to flooding, it’s important to know what the most common natural hazards are where you live, so you can prepare effectively. To determine your risk, use credible resources, such as FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center or Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool. Here are a few tips:

Keep water away from your basement or foundation with smart landscaping that can direct it away from your home.
Clean leaves and other debris from your gutters at least twice a year.
Remove highly flammable vegetation — anything dead or very dry and dying — and unhealthy trees against or near your home.
Cut down tree branches that might be hanging over or near your house.
Install storm doors or windows — they can also reduce heating and cooling costs!

Prepare for power outages

In the event of a power outage, it’s important to have backup systems and tools in place. Having a gasoline, propane or solar-powered generator on hand can help keep essential appliances running or mobile devices charged for emergencies. Make sure you know how to safely operate your generator before an emergency strikes. If you are able, consider installing solar power with battery energy storage that can keep you online even when the grid goes down.

Other home upgrades

Extreme heat and cold are also worth preparing for. Consider conducting a DIY or professional home energy assessment to not only find ways to save money on your utility bills each month but also to stay safe during extreme weather conditions. Here are a few tips to consider:

Locate and seal air leaks.
Inspect insulation levels in your attic and basement.
Upgrade to energy-efficient appliances and electronics.

Climate change is causing heavier precipitation, longer droughts and other extreme weather events, putting our communities at increasing risk. While we can’t prevent the next storm, hopefully these steps can help you to feel more prepared.

Off-Grid System Keeps Tennessee Couple Safe and Warm During Winter Storm Fern

At the end of January 2026, Winter Storm Fern brought freezing temperatures, ice and snow to much of the country, leaving more than a million people without power.

Joe and Sally Schiller have lived off-grid on 78 acres overlooking the Cumberland River in Montgomery County, Tennessee, since the mid-1990s. Today, they rely on a 12-kilowatt solar system — rooftop and pole-mounted — with 28.6 kilowatt-hours of fixed battery storage. An electric vehicle provides 84.6 kilowatt-hours of energy storage capacity, and the couple also has energy-efficient appliances, including a 1-ton heat pump for heating and cooling.

“In a sense, we were better prepared than many people, but it’s not like you just sit back and hunker down and wait it out,” Joe Schiller says. “It requires some — not just planning — but active strategies during [a storm].”

On Saturday, the first day of Winter Storm Fern, they plugged their heat pumps into their fully charged EV so that the vehicle’s battery could keep their heat running and conserve their use of solar-generated energy due to cloudy weather. Stubborn snow and ice limited solar production the following day, but by Monday, they had cleared enough from their arrays to recharge their batteries. By Tuesday, Schiller says they were “pretty much back in business.”

“We never lost power,” Joe Schiller says. “We always had power. We just had to be a little careful with it.”

“Being careful” meant delaying the dishwasher and laundry for a couple of days, among other small changes.

Joe Schiller says they are “pretty spoiled,” having watched many power outages in the region come and go over the years, only to cruise through relatively unscathed. Still, it requires discipline and strategic thinking about their energy usage and household preparedness.

“It’s not that hard to do, though, once you have been through it a few times,” he says.