The Southwest Florida area flies into a panic every hurricane season — with good reason. Homes are frequently left without power for days on end and the hope of being prepared “for the next big one” has evolved into a necessity.
Was your business left in the dark during that last hurricane? Florida business owners know that tropical storms and thunderstorms are to be expected during storm season, but sometimes, bad weather strikes at the worst time.
In Florida, major hurricanes can leave millions without power. After storms like Hurricane Irma, the power outages lasted for more than a week. Thousands of residents of Puerto Rico still had no electricity when Christmas arrived, more than three months after Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on the island. That left a lot of people asking, do I need a generator?
Here in Southwest Florida, you don’t want to be caught without backup power come hurricane season. We all remember Hurricane Irma, September 2017’s catastrophic storm. After the storm, 99% of the population of Florida was without power. It took almost two weeks before the power companies reestablished power— and even towards the end of September, there were still more than 70,000 outages in the state.
With all of our hurricanes and storms, purchasing a generator is practically a requirement of being a Florida resident.
‘Tis the season when the great Sunshine State welcomes an influx of Northern snowbirds, eager to escape the chilly winter by heading south.
As soon as the temperature begins to drop, these retirees pack up their bags and say “see ya in a few months!” to their summer home. Ready for warm weather, these nomads typically stay in Florida from November/December through March/April— or as long as the North sees ice and snow.
Four to six months is a long time to leave your home unattended, thousands of miles away. That’s why it’s crucial to winterize your Northern home before making the trek South.
If you’re new to Florida, it’s important to understand how serious hurricane season should be taken in our southern state. Category 3 and above storms hit our region regularly, and repercussions can be catastrophic if proper precautions aren’t followed.
Here’s a quick list of some hurricane preparedness ideas to prepare before, during, and after the next SWFL storm:
If your generator isn’t operating the way it did when it was first installed, there might be something wrong.
Here you are again—rummaging through your garage for your portable generator. A hurricane will be bearing down in just a matter of hours, but just when you go to fire your backup power source up… nothing! The generator won’t start.
When it comes to generator shopping, it can be hard to know where to start. A long list of terms get tossed around, many of which overlap and can unintentionally confuse— electric generators, gas generators, standby generators, automatic power generators, back-up generators, etc.