Severe Weather Season is Here: Make Sure You’ve Prepped with the Right Tech

April 20th marked the start of severe weather season in Maryland. Whether it was last week’s strong storms or a future hurricane, it’s important to be ready for it all.

Verizon is prepared for anything Mother Nature cooks up. The company invested more than $11 billion last year in its network– not just in additional coverage and capacity – but also backup generators and batteries, to ensure if the lights go out, you stay connected.

It’s important for all of us to take steps to ensure we’re ready when severe weather strikes. Check out some of our tips/tricks below.

Get ready for severe weather season:

· Store phones, tablets, batteries, chargers and other equipment in a dry, accessible location. Simple zip-lock storage bags will shield devices, and today there are many waterproof phones, cases and other protective accessories.

· Keep phone and tablet batteries fully charged – in case local power is lost – well before warnings are issued.

· Have additional spare batteries and car-charger adapters available for back-up power. Pair your spare Mophies with inexpensive USB powered lighting and you won’t be left in the dark.

· Make sure to review the power outage checklist from the American Red Cross (or better yet, download the Red Cross app for mobile tips when a storm strikes)

· Maintain a list of emergency numbers – police and fire agencies; power and insurance companies; family, friends and co-workers; etc. – and program them into your wireless devices before an emergency arises.

· Use your mobile device to photograph and catalogue your valuables and other household belongings for possible insurance claims and back them up to the Verizon Cloud or Google Photos.

· Choose from hundreds of free weather-, news- and safety-related apps and services for smartphones and tablets, the American Red Cross app, Weather: Universal Forecast, The Weather Channel, Weather Underground, and NOAA Now and other mobile resources from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

· Become familiar with your phone’s free flashlight app and know how to turn it on (hint: many devices let you use an audio command, like “Ok Google, turn on my flashlight”)

· Make sure you have http://www.baltimoresun.com/ bookmarked on your phone to stay up-to-date during inclement weather.