Preparing for a Huge Storm

Since we moved to the suburbs in spring 2019, we’ve seen our share of wind, storms and even tornado warnings. Thanks for modern weather forecasting, we’re usual able to get in front of it. Most of the yard is buckled down 24/7 anyways due to the crazy winds we have here, but some things need extra attention ahead of bigger storms. These are the key things we address when preparing for a huge storm.

On August 10, 2020 we lived through the biggest storm either of us have seen in our lifetimes. There’s actually a Wikipedia page for that Midwest derecho, that’s how intense it was. Wind speeds exceeded 70 mph in some areas, and I have to believe we were one of them. Here are some photos of the aftermath.

Our 250 pound steel table flipped over, snapping our solar powered umbrella in half. In hindsight, I should’ve insisted that we put the umbrella in the garage, however, Kevin assured me it was securely in the table. He was absolutely right, because the umbrella didn’t budge! Unfortunately, the table was its undoing. Notice the base is even still attached? Crazy!

On the “this should have been obvious” side of things, our neighbors across the street didn’t secure their trampoline at all and it ended up in our front yard completely dismantled. Thankfully, it didn’t actually hit our house or windows, one of the worst case scenarios with an airborne trampoline.

Note to anyone with a trampoline: it’s basically a giant umbrella. Please secure it down and save yourself and your neighbors some serious insurance claim hassles later.

Things to Do When Preparing for a Huge Storm

Everyone’s situations vary but these are some of the more universal things we do when preparing for a storm at our house.

Turn Glass Tables Upside Down

Ideally, if you have room to put these in a garage or shed, do that. That eliminates any risk of them flying and leaving shattered glass in your yard. However, if you’re short on space, turning them upside on a soft surface (i.e. mulch or grass) works. I say soft because they tend to grip better and stay in place. Plus, if the wind slides them on a hard surface they might scratch.

We make it a point to stack ours along the side of our house that gets the least wind. Eventually we moved our garden box over there too and I tuck them underneath when they’re not in use. They withstood this storm outside so I’m pretty sure they’d survive most any large storm or derecho this way.

Take Your Doormat Inside

Around here, I take our doormats inside or place a few bricks on them a few times a month. Our subdivision backs up to open farmland on two sides so the winds are out of this world. However, most normal folks don’t have such crazy winds except during the biggest of storms.

For this storm I threw the doormats in the garage in advance. I saw the wind projections, bricks weren’t going to help us here! It was the absolute right call because people lost cushions, mats, etc. all over the neighborhood.

Secure Planters and Pots

My white and black planter is at least 40 pounds, so I took my chances with that one (it was fine). However, my lighter pots and hanging planters needed to be tucked in somewhere where they’d be safe.

There’s zero chance the hanging ones would’ve stayed on their hooks, but I wanted them to get a healthy drink from the rain so securing them in the larger landscaping was a good choice. You can always bring really little or light pots inside, or put them in the garage or shed, but medium/less fragile ones like these should be fine securely on the ground outside. The next photo below shows our large fern planters, we lined those up outside against the back of the house and they were fine there, too.

Bring Small Flight Risk Items Inside

There are lots of things that sit outside regularly that we probably don’t even think twice about day-to-day. In a big ole’ storm though, they’re a flight risk.

Bring these little trinkets inside or store them in a secure storage bin before the next big derecho hits.

Dog bowls
Wagons
Small children’s toys
Kiddie pools
Dog toys
Hula hoops, balls and other outdoor toys

Bring in Hanging Yard Decor

Where able and it makes sense, I recommend bringing in any hanging decor. For example, our clock is an item I probably should have brought in, but thankfully it made it through that one and all the other storms. It has a glass face so it’s really not something that should be risked. If you have any birdhouses or items hanging in a tree that may break if blown over, I’d recommend taking those down temporarily.

My black wrought iron decor between the windows is screwed in so that’s never budging. However, our string lights were an item in question. Since we zip tied them on when installing, there really is no temporarily taking them down. Thankfully, they were totally fine! Just one or two bulbs burnt out, but we believe that to be related to the umbrella and the table flipping. We’ve left these string lights up for an entire year straight now and they work good as new. To be safe though, we did buy two packs of their replacement bulbs while they’re in circulation to ensure we won’t be replacing these string lights for years to come.

Patio Umbrellas and Preparing for a Huge Storm

This may seem a little obvious, but even if you’re convinced the umbrella won’t fly out of it’s base, the base (and table) may just go flying with it. Take it from someone who’s seen it.

Even if you don’t have garage or shed space, I highly recommend removing your umbrella from the table. It’s still safer laying right at the base of your house, maybe with a large rock or brick on it. Or if you don’t mind, you can even bring it inside temporarily for the really big storms and derechos.

Patio Furniture and Preparing for a Huge Storm

Though heavier, you’d be shocked how easily the bigger storms can throw patio furniture around willy nilly.

Preparing Patio Furniture for a Huge Storm

The piece I was most nervous about was my lounger. It moves the easiest in regular wind, so I assumed it’d be the biggest large storm risk. I secured it in place with a few dining chairs and our lounge chairs.

Patio Chair Covers Preparing for a Huge Storm

Speaking of which, we cover our patio chairs when they’re not in use to prolong their lifespan. This Amazon chair cover buckles to the chair leg and you can adjust how tight they cinch to the chairs. They’ve been perfect in every storm scenario expect this really big one. The covers got blown off (but stayed attached to the chair, so we didn’t lose them) and at one point I ran out quickly to grab the cushions before they flew too far. We got these chairs on clearance and would never find identical new white cushions.

Lesson here is to bring in the cushions when preparing for a huge storm or derecho. Every other storm scenario is otherwise business as usual.

Lastly, any extra chairs around the dining table got stacked along the back of the house where the wind is least aggressive. This proved to be valuable because the ones guarding my lounger did end up flying around a bit and since the table flipped, who knows if it would have damaged any of the chairs in the process.

Items That Can Stay Out in a Storm

Items that made it just fine include our in-ground copper solar lights and our fence solar lights. Below are other items that should survive a storm with little to no preparation.

Firewood rack (this is ours)
Lawn ornaments of substantial weight/aren’t hollow
Fireplace log rack (this is ours)
Grills or smokers (be sure they’re securely covered, we use bungee cords)
Items permanently attached to a fence or other in-ground structure

Which storm prep tips resonated with you? Hopefully you’ve learned something new, and if so I’d love to know what was most helpful. Share your own tips and let me know your thoughts below in the comments! And before you go, be sure to subscribe for new post alerts with more backyard tips all summer long!

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