How to Prepare for a Weather Emergency
Consumer Reports offers tips on protecting your home, family, pets, and more
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With an increasing number of weather emergencies like winter storms and frigid wintry temperatures, it’s important to prep your home, your devices, and more for extreme weather.
What should you do in the event of a weather emergency? Consumer Reports offers a comprehensive guide on how to prepare for approaching storms. Here’s a rundown of what to do now and what to do for longer-term planning.
Best Snow Blowers of 2026, Tested and Reviewed
See our review of battery and gas-powered snow blowers, including single-stage, two-stage, and three-stage models.
How to Prepare for Weather Emergencies
Get your home ready for evacuating. If a mandatory evacuation is announced as a storm approaches, you should know what to do to your home before you leave. Read more about preparing your home before evacuating ahead of a storm.
Have a “go bag” ready. In addition to preparing your home, you should have a bag of essential items to take with you, including a flashlight, food and water, warm clothing, and more. Read more about what to include in a go bag. We’ve also covered what to eat during a power outage.
Longer-Term Planning for Weather Emergencies
Even if you’re not immediately threatened by a storm or another emergency, it’s always good to be prepared. Here are some things you can do for the long term.
Update your homeowners insurance. When disaster strikes, you can save a lot of time, aggravation, and money by having a good insurance policy. How do you know which insurer is best or whether you have enough coverage? Check out the best homeowners insurance companies in Consumer Reports’ updated ratings.
Protect your property against flooding. Think you don’t need flood insurance? You don’t want to wait until disaster strikes to find out. Here’s what you need to know about flood insurance.
Have an emergency fund. Around 4 in 10 American adults don’t have enough savings to cover a $400 emergency expense, according to a 2024 Federal Reserve survey. Now is the best time to get started on making sure your emergency fund is big enough.
Best Portable Generators to Power Your Home
The following workhorses provide 7,000 to more than 8,000 watts of power and usually weigh upward of 200 pounds. They’re what you want to power most or all of your home’s essentials during a prolonged outage. Prices currently range from just under $1,000 to $2,000 or more. See our generator ratings and buying guide for more options and shopping advice.
