Winter storm power outage checklist

Updated 2026-10-31 · Sources linked inline

A winter-storm outage is different from a summer thunderstorm outage in one way that matters: you lose heat, and the instinctive fixes (a gas oven, a grill, a generator in the garage) are the ones that kill people. Alabama doesn't get ice often, but when it does, houses, vehicles and road crews are less prepared than in colder states. Alabama Power lists December to February as the most common months for severe winter weather and notes that snow and ice can cause power outages and make roads dangerous (Alabama Power).

This checklist is built around a timeline: what to do days ahead, hours ahead, during the outage and after.

How this guide was made: this is a research guide built on manufacturer specifications and federal guidance, with sources linked throughout. We haven't bench-tested any of the equipment mentioned, and we don't claim to.

Know the alert terms

Alabama Power defines the National Weather Service winter terms this way:

Treat an Outlook as your cue to start, not a Warning. Anything you buy, charge or fill after the Warning is competing with everyone else. To see which Alabama counties have active winter-weather or other National Weather Service alerts that can cause outages, use our Alabama weather alerts and outage history by county page.

Three to five days ahead (Outlook)

• Check your power plan. Total what you must run: refrigerator, furnace blower, a sump pump if you have one, router, phone charging, medical equipment. Use the wattage chart and the generator size calculator. If you plan on a battery, use the power station runtime calculator.
• Test your backup. If you own a generator, start it outdoors, well away from the house, and run it briefly with your essential loads, following the manual (a short run such as 20 minutes is our suggestion, not an official figure). Check fuel, oil and cords. If you own a power station, confirm it is charged and powers a lamp.
• Fill vehicle fuel tanks. Alabama Power advises a full tank to prevent fuel-line freezing and suggests a mobile emergency kit (see below).
• Buy gas, batteries and water now. Supply runs short once the forecast firms up.
• Check your CO alarms. Install battery-powered or battery backup CO alarms on every level of your home and outside each sleeping area, and test them monthly (CPSC). The CDC says to check the batteries when you change your clocks (CDC).

Twelve to forty-eight hours ahead (Watch)

• Charge phones, power banks and any station. Download offline maps and keep a paper list of important numbers.
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed once power fails, and make room in the freezer for the coldest food. Put an appliance thermometer in the fridge and freezer.
• Bring outdoor pets inside. Alabama Power also says to stay off the roads if you can.
• Know your water shutoff location. If you are unsure how to protect pipes in a hard freeze, check your local utility or plumber's guidance now, not during the event.
• Move vehicles away from trees and lines if you can do so safely, and keep your phone charger and a blanket in the car.

When the power goes out

1. Confirm it's a utility outage and report it. Alabama Power customers can call 1-800-888-2726 or text OUT to 272688; see the Alabama outage checklist for the options and for co-op customers.
2. Keep the fridge and freezer shut. A refrigerator keeps food safe about 4 hours; a full freezer about 48 hours, a half-full one about 24 hours (FoodSafety.gov). More on the load in how many watts a refrigerator uses.
3. Pick one room to heat. Close doors, hang blankets over windows and stay together. A small heated space holds warmth better than a whole house.
4. Dress in layers, with a hat and dry socks. Cold stress is real, and wet clothing makes it worse.
5. Eat and drink. The CDC says well-balanced meals help you stay warmer, and recommends warm, sweet drinks or broth rather than alcoholic or caffeinated drinks.
6. Limit phone use and text instead of calling.

Heat safely: what works and what kills

The CDC's winter-storm guidance and its power-outage page are specific (CDC winter, CDC outage):

• Never heat your home with a gas stove, oven, outdoor grill or vehicle.
• Never use a generator, charcoal grill, camp stove or other gasoline- or charcoal-burning device inside your home, basement or garage, even with doors and windows open.
• Run generators outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors and vents, and use a battery-powered or battery backup CO detector.
• If you use an electric space heater, choose one with an automatic shutoff and non-glowing elements, avoid extension cords, keep it at least 3 feet from anything flammable, never cover it, and never leave children unattended near it.

Alabama Power gives the same warnings: do not use a stove for heat, and do not use outdoor grills, gas or propane heaters, or generators indoors.

Why the emphasis? The CDC says carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless and kills without warning; more than 400 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning not linked to fires each year, with over 14,000 hospitalized. Details and placement rules are in generator carbon monoxide safety.

If you have a gas furnace

A gas furnace burns fuel for heat but needs electricity for the blower, igniter and controls, so it stops in an outage. It can often run on a generator, but it is hardwired, so it needs a proper connection through a transfer switch or similar arrangement installed by a licensed electrician. Never run an extension cord to a hardwired furnace or feed house wiring from a generator. The full explanation, watts and sizing are in will a generator run a gas furnace.

Power plan for a winter night

Use average figures to size a battery. A rough overnight example for a house with a gas furnace:

If the furnace blower runs 40% of the time, it averages about 280 W, or about 3.4 kWh over 12 hours. That alone exceeds a 1,024 Wh power station, which is why a battery is better for communications and the fridge while a generator, correctly connected, is the practical answer for heat. The duty cycle is an illustrative assumption, not a measurement. Real furnaces vary, so check your furnace's data plate or ask an HVAC technician.

Batteries and cold

Power stations have temperature limits. The EcoFlow DELTA 2 manual lists charging from 0 to 45 °C (32 to 113 °F) and discharge from −10 to 45 °C (14 to 113 °F). Bluetti's AC200MAX manual lists charging at 0 to 40 °C (32 to 104 °F) and discharge at −20 to 40 °C (−4 to 104 °F). If a station is stored in a freezing garage, bring it indoors before the storm and keep it charged. Phones lose charge quickly in the cold, so keep them close to your body.

Pack a car kit

Alabama Power suggests a mobile emergency kit if you can't avoid driving: first aid kit, jumper cables, flares, a full tank of gas, tow rope, chains or snow tires, bag of sand or cat litter, shovel, ice scraper, blanket, boots, gloves, warm clothes, flashlight, water, snacks and a phone charger. Don't drive on ice unless you must.

Downed lines and trees

Treat every downed line as live. Stay far away, keep children and pets away, and report it at 1-800-888-2726 or to local authorities; call 911 if someone is in contact with the lines. Never pull limbs off lines or repair utility equipment yourself.

Check on people and pets

Ready.gov's power-outage guidance includes planning for medicines and medical devices (Ready.gov). If you use powered medical equipment, talk to the provider and your utility before the storm about backup power. Check on older neighbors by phone or from a safe distance.

After the power returns

• Evaluate food item by item using the FoodSafety.gov chart. Discard refrigerated perishables held above 40 °F for more than 2 hours; don't assume outdoor cold kept food safe, and use a thermometer.
• Turn large appliances on one at a time.
• Leave space heaters unplugged until the house is warm and you're present.
• Restock fuel, batteries and water, and note what worked.

Printable one-page version

Start with the Alabama outage checklist if you haven't built a baseline plan.