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Home » News » How To Prepare For Hurricane Season in Jacksonville

How To Prepare For Hurricane Season in Jacksonville

Updated for 2020

June 1st marks the beginning of the 2020 hurricane and storm season. The latest reports from the NOAA predicts “a likely range of 13 to 19 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). The outlook predicts a 60% chance of an above-normal season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season and only a 10% chance of a below-normal season.” The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30.

So how can Jacksonville residents prepare for hurricanes in the future?

Based on previous seasons, we now know the possibility of long-term power outages and electrical surges is a real thing. To help you prepare for hurricane season in Jacksonville, we have provided the steps below to prepare your electrical system for a storm.

As you go through these steps, keep in mind that our staff is able to handle the heavy lifting for you. Call us and we’ll make getting ready for storm season easy.

Define what electrical circuits you need during a storm or outage.

It may sound like a lot of work, but it is important to have a clear and documented list of the electrical circuits in your home, what they power and how much power they use. When an outage occurs, having this information and connecting the right circuits to a backup power source can save you money and keep you comfortable.

Get a generator and verify what circuits it can run.

Once you have your circuits defined, it is important to know what kind of generator you have and what it is capable of outputting. It is also important to know how it connects to your service.

Portable generators can seem like an easy option, but there are a couple of hurdles. Depending on their output, they may only be able to keep a few items running. There is also a safety concern. If you are using a portable generator, it is a must that you run it outdoors to prevent harmful fumes from affecting you or your family.

Standby generators provide a lot more flexibility and safety. If professionally installed, your generator will already be connected to the vital circuits in your house, be the right size to run them and already have a safe cutover system in place, making it easy to switch on when the power goes out.

Make sure your generator is serviced and ready.

It is important that every generator be serviced at least once a year. Things like bad fuel, old oil, dirty filters, and dead batteries for the control console are just a few things that can prevent your backup from working when it is needed.

Check to see that you have the right surge protection options.

Power surges can be caused by a number of things. One of the main things is when items that require a large amount of power are either turned on or off suddenly. During a storm, there may be instances of this occurring throughout the area. Equally, lightning strikes and water damage can also cause unexpected surges. So it is important to have surge protection ready for your products.

While individual surge-protecting power strips can be helpful, it is also an option to have a surge protector installed at the source of your home’s power, providing total household surge protection.

What should you do if a hurricane is coming to Jacksonville?

We recommend hiring an electrician. We know it sounds self-serving, but if you have never had your home prepared by an electrician before, please consider it.

Having a licensed electrician help you prepare for storm season increases your chance of riding out the storm safely and comfortably. A company with the right equipment, people and experience can test your home system, determine any repairs or upgrades needed and make sure you’re ready to go each year.

If you have had your home prepared before, it is a good idea to have it rechecked. The process is not as time consuming or expensive as the initial preparation, but it is helpful to make sure everything is in working order and to check if any new additions have changed what needs backup power.

Stay Informed

Beyond that, we recommend downloading The City Of Jacksonville’s 2020-2021 Preparedness Guide.


American Electrical Contracting is one of the largest and is the highest reviewed electrical contractor in Northeast Florida. Our Jacksonville-based electricians are held to the highest standard of quality and safety. If you want to learn more about all our residential electrician services, click here. We are always happy to help.