Around here, fall weather is unpredictable in both directions. One week it's 90 degrees, the next a front rolls through with straight-line winds and three inches of rain. Storms take down limbs, take out power, and push surges through home wiring that homeowners don't notice until an appliance quits a month later. Here's what to walk through before the season gets going.
That's the point where the utility's line meets your house. Standing in the yard, you should see a clean connection, a mast that's straight, and no wire rubbing a tree limb. If the mast leans, the insulation looks cracked, or a branch has grown into the line, that's a repair to schedule now — not during a storm.
Limbs over the service drop are the single most common cause of storm outages at an individual home. Call the utility for anything touching their line at the pole; for growth around your own mast and roofline, get it cut back before the wind does it for you.
Press "test," confirm the outlet goes dead, press "reset." Do it at the kitchen, bathrooms, garage, and every exterior outlet. Storm season means wet outlets and wet hands, and a GFCI that won't trip is just a regular outlet with a button on it.
Exterior receptacles need in-use "bubble" covers that keep water out even with a cord plugged in. A cracked cover or a flip-lid propped open by an extension cord is an invitation for water to find the circuit.
If an outlet, panel, or fixture has been rained on or flooded, don't dry it out and hope. Have it inspected. Water leaves corrosion behind long after the surface looks fine.
Power strips protect one device. A whole-home surge protective device mounts at the panel and clamps the spikes that come in on the service line — the ones that kill HVAC boards, well pumps, garage door openers, and every smart device in the house at once. It's one of the least expensive pieces of insurance on this list.
Everyone in the house who's old enough should know where the panel is and which breaker is the main. In a flooding or downed-line situation, that knowledge matters. If water is standing near the panel, don't touch it — call the utility and call us.
How long can you go without power before it's a real problem? Medications that need refrigeration, a well pump, someone on oxygen, a home office you can't lose — those answers point some homeowners toward a standby generator. If a portable is your plan instead, it needs a proper interlock or transfer switch. Never back-feed a generator through a dryer outlet; it can kill a lineman working to restore your street.
If your house is 30-plus years old and hasn't had eyes on the panel in a decade, a 40-point safety evaluation is a cheap way to find loose lugs, corroded breakers, double-taps, and undersized service before a storm finds them first. Amp Club members get one every year as part of the membership.
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