Amid Major U.S. Storm Warnings, Experts Share Tips on How to Best Prepare

Severe thunderstorms intensified and impacted much of the Midwest region on Friday and into Saturday, with more instances of extreme weather expected throughout the weekend.

In an update shared on Saturday morning, the National Weather Service warned that an "outbreak of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms [are] expected over parts of the Deep South and Tennessee Valley today into tonight."

With a vast swath of the U.S. experiencing extreme weather, and storm warnings in place across various states, American Red Cross and other organizations are encouraging people to prepare themselves.

“If you're prepared in advance, you're going to be more comfortable to respond when an emergency does happen. You'll be in the know of what needs to get done,” Stephanie Fox, media relations lead at American Red Cross, tells TIME.

Amid rising concerns, here are the best ways to prepare for a storm.

Secure your home

Before a storm, try to trim trees and cut down branches near your home. By removing branches that are likely to break or fall during a storm, you can prevent them from damaging homes, vehicles, power lines, or causing injuries. Further, it can help prevent a tree from becoming uprooted and falling during a storm, and makes the cleanup post-storm less chaotic.

Beyond trees outside the home, the National Weather Service suggests that those preparing for a storm “secure loose objects, close windows and doors, and move any valuable objects inside or under a sturdy structure.”

Effort to stay updated

Those within an affected-area of a severe storm can stay updated with the forecasted storm, its intensity and movement through multiple avenues, whether that be through NOAA Weather Radio, The Emergency Alert System (EAS), or their local weather channel.

Oftentimes, communities have specific ways to send warnings, from outdoor sirens to alerts via smartphones. By learning how your community alerts residents to severe incoming weather—including warnings for storms and tornados tornados—you can make sure you stay updated in real-time.

Fox notes that people need to make sure their updates do not just go off during the day, but at night too.

“People don't always consider that they need to have something that's going to wake them up,” she says, adding that the NOAA Weather Radio is programmed to emit “a very loud buzzing noise that will absolutely wake up a household in the event that a warning is issued.”

Clean your gutters

During a storm, you want your gutters to move as much water as possible, as easily as possible. The best way to ensure this is to clean your gutters prior to the storm hitting, in order to prevent water build-up during the weather event—at which point it likely wouldn’t be safe to go outside and clear any blockages. Water build-up can cause damage to home roofs, and create leaks and structural damage to your home.

Build an emergency kit

To prepare for a storm—and the days after a storm passes, in which necessities like electricity may still be out—it’s a good idea to build an emergency kit to help you and your loved ones power through. A disaster supply kit includes basic items that your household may need.

According to Ready.gov, a national public service campaign formed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) dedicated to educating Americans to prepare for and mitigate emergencies, a disaster kit should include water, food, a flashlight, a first aid kit, a mask, garbage bags, a whistle, a can opener, a cell phone with extra chargers and batteries, and more. You can read the full list here. 

After assembling the kit, Ready.gov recommends keeping canned food in a dry place and storing boxed food in tightly closed plastic or metal containers in order to ensure they remain edible, should a severe weather event or disaster strike. 

They also recommend keeping a kit in your car, in case you ever become stranded.

Per Fox, it’s vital to have a “stay-at-home kit” that allows a household to navigate about two weeks in the house under emergency circumstances, and then a “to-go kit” that people can use if they have to evacuate, which should have enough resources to cover three-to-five days.

Locate the nearest shelter

According to the CDC, one way to prepare yourself in the event of severe thunderstorms is to locate your nearest shelters ahead of time and map out the safest routes to reach them. 

“If [people] live in mobile homes or campers, those are not safe when we get these types of outbreaks,” Fox says. “So it's really important for folks to identify if they have a community shelter. Maybe they can visit friends or family overnight.” 

The idea is to be out of harm’s way when the peak of the threat is expected. According to Randy Bowers, meteorologist at the National Weather Service, this also means planning for which room in your shelter or home will best protect you in the event of a bad storm—especially as large hail storms mean people should stay away from windows.

“[The safest room] is usually the lower floor of your house. If you have a basement, that's ideal. But if you don't, then [aim for] the lower floor in an interior room,” he says. “The idea is to put as many walls between you and the weather outside as you possibly can, and to stay away from windows.”

Make your pets a part of the plan

If you have animals or pets, Fox says that they should be embedded in your family’s emergency plan. Make sure their carriers and leashes are accessible, so that when a severe storm—or other emergency— hits, pets can be evacuated with ease, if needed.

“If they have any prescription medications, make sure you have an extra supply in your emergency kit—extra food, toys, just anything that your pet may need if you have to be confined to your home for a period of time, or if you have to evacuate,” she says.

Fox also recommends making sure that pets are kept inside during storms, in case they get “spooked” by thunder and try to run away.