For a little more than 20% of the year, North Carolina deals with severe weather of some kind, including severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings.

What You Need To Know

  • Severe weather can occur any time of the year but is most common from March through May

  • Prepare a severe weather kit in your home and consider creating one for your car as well

  • Some items in your kit will need to be replaced such as batteries and some food items

On Good Friday of 2023, I woke up to flash flooding outside my home with over five and a half inches of rainfall in just four hours.

We need to be prepared for severe weather of many kinds before it occurs and one of those ways to be prepared is with a severe weather kit.

Your kits will have items you may need often such as a flashlight for when the power goes out. Other items you may rarely need, like extra cash or a three-day supply of food.

Assembling your severe weather kit

For when the power goes out you will need a candle and matches in a waterproof container or a flashlight and extra batteries. Also, have a weather radio, and if you can get one with a crank and a solar panel, you’ll be able to use it even if the power does go out and the internal batteries die. Some weather radios even have the ability to charge your devices, which can be a lifesaver!

Make sure you have a three-day supply of nonperishable food items and enough water for each family member. FEMA recommends one gallon per person per day. If you are packing food in cans, be sure you have a can opener, too.

Don’t forget your pets — have plenty of food for them and keep their tags and microchip information handy.

Put extra medication in there along with a first aid kit. Wear a helmet to protect your head if you’re taking cover in an interior room. A change of clothes could be helpful with a potential for rainfall in the severe weather event.

If you have a baby, pack plenty of infant items as well such as diapers and formula.

Some miscellaneous items you may want to include would be a whistle to make it easier for first responders to locate you if your home suffers serious damage. Pack extra cash if power outages and loss of cell service are so severe that digital currency does not work. Put your important papers in a waterproof folder, including vital documents and your insurance policies. A pocket multitool may come in handy as well.

You may want to consider packing a box with similar items for your car. In addition, an extra blanket and local maps could come in handy.

To wrap it all up...

Put these items in a waterproof container that’s readily available and easy to store. Make sure that some of your items that expire, like food and medications, are replaced every so often.

This is just one of the ways you can stay prepared for severe weather before it happens — another is keeping up with the forecast with Weather on the 1s on Spectrum News 1.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.