Kit Library
Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and multi-day power events for households with children. Built around what families actually use.
01 · The scenario
A tornado warning drops at 2 a.m. The phone alarm screams. The children wake confused and frightened. You have 90 seconds to move everyone to the interior room, cover heads, and shelter. If your plan is to figure it out in the moment, the moment will be over before you start.
Or the scenario is slower: a line of severe thunderstorms rolls through, the power goes out, and the forecast says more is coming tomorrow. You are looking at 48 to 72 hours without electricity, with children who need to eat, need light, need entertainment, and need to feel like the adults have this handled.
This kit covers both versions. The active-storm half keeps your family safe during the event itself. The aftermath half keeps the household running for three days without the grid. Every item was chosen because families with children actually use it, not because it looks good on a gear list.
Shelter guidance is sourced from NOAA Storm Prediction Center and CDC. Head protection guidance follows NOAA and University of Alabama at Birmingham research. All safety claims are verified against primary sources.
02 · What to buy
The first three items are for the active storm. The rest keep the household running during the power outage that follows. Nothing here requires electricity to use during the event itself.
Item 1 · Warning
A hand-crank or battery-powered NOAA weather radio with the Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) tone alert. The tone alert wakes the household when warnings are issued for your county, even at 2 a.m. when phones are silenced or dead. The Midland WR120 or WR400 are both solid options with programmable county codes. Keep it plugged in or with fresh batteries near the bedroom. A phone app is not a substitute: phones lose charge, lose signal, and get silenced at bedtime.
Item 2 · Head protection
NOAA states that a helmet can offer some protection against head injury during a tornado. CDC confirms that head injuries are common causes of tornado-related death. Any impact-rated helmet works: bicycle, skateboard, baseball, or construction hard hat. For children, a properly sized bike helmet they already own is the right choice. Store every helmet in or directly beside the shelter room so you can grab them in seconds. Do not go looking for helmets when you should be sheltering.
Item 3 · Shelter bedding
NOAA recommends covering with thick padding such as a mattress, blankets, or sleeping bags to protect against falling debris if the roof or ceiling fails. A crib mattress or twin mattress propped against the wall of your shelter room, ready to pull over the family, is the standard approach. If a mattress is impractical, a stack of heavy blankets or sleeping bags staged in the shelter closet serves the same purpose. The goal is overhead coverage, not warmth.
Item 4 · Safe light
Two battery-powered LED lanterns for room lighting, plus one small flashlight per child. A child with their own flashlight has something to hold, something to control, and something that makes the dark smaller. Not candles: CPSC advises battery-powered lights over candles during outages, and the fire risk multiplies with children. Glow sticks (stored with the comfort bag) provide ambient light for hours without batteries or heat.
Item 5 · Power for essentials
A LiFePO4 battery station for phones, lights, a CPAP, brief refrigerator runs, and charging a tablet when the kids need 30 minutes of a familiar show. The Anker SOLIX C1000 and Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 (both around $400) are well-tested options. A power station will not run an air conditioner or a full-size appliance for long. Use it strategically: phones, medical devices, refrigerator in rotation, and occasional morale boosts for the household.
Item 6 · Documents
A waterproof, zip-sealed bag containing copies of: homeowner's or renter's insurance policy and agent number, driver's licenses, birth certificates, medical insurance cards, current medication lists for each family member, and one recent photo of each child (in case of separation during evacuation). Store it in your shelter room. If you need to evacuate post-storm, grab the bag. Everything else can be replaced. These documents speed up every recovery process.
Item 7 · Food and water
Peanut butter, crackers, granola bars, applesauce pouches, canned fruit, canned soup (eaten cold or at room temperature), dried fruit, nuts, and juice boxes. A manual can opener (EZ-DUZ-IT or Swing-A-Way). One gallon of water per person per day. The key with children is familiarity: stock brands and items they already eat. An unfamiliar emergency meal on top of a stressful night makes everything harder. Also include disposable plates, cups, and utensils.
Item 8 · Comfort and activity
A small bag stored with the shelter supplies: coloring books, crayons, a deck of cards, a paperback or two, one stuffed animal per young child, and a pack of glow sticks. Glow sticks provide comforting ambient light for hours with no batteries, no heat, and no fire risk. One whistle per family member (in case anyone is trapped and needs to signal rescuers). A few hard candies or lollipops. This bag is not optional. Children who are busy and comforted are children who are manageable in a crisis.
Full kit estimated cost
$415-$770
The power station is most of the cost. The budget version below brings the total under $150.
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03 · What not to buy
Adhesive window film does not protect against tornado-force winds or flying debris. The correct response to a tornado warning is to move to an interior room away from all windows, not to stand near treated glass. If you live in a hurricane zone, impact-rated shutters are a different product for a different hazard.
A house with no power, frightened children, and stressed adults is exactly the wrong environment for open flames. LED lanterns and glow sticks are brighter, safer, and last longer. CPSC advises battery-powered lights over candles during outages.
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on phones are useful but have limits: they can be delayed, they cover broad areas, and they stop working when the phone runs out of battery or loses cell service. A dedicated NOAA weather radio with SAME tone alert works on its own power, wakes the house at 2 a.m., and does not depend on a cell tower. Keep both. Rely on the radio.
An average of 100 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by portable generators (CPSC). Never run a generator inside a home, garage, basement, or any enclosed area, even with the door open. If you use a generator during a post-storm outage, place it outdoors, at least 20 feet from any window, door, or vent.
Pre-packaged storm kits sold online are typically overpriced, under-equipped, and filled with items your family will not use. The food is unfamiliar, the flashlights are cheap, and nothing is sized for children. Build your own from this list and stock food your kids actually eat. You will spend less and end up with a kit that works.
04 · Budget version
The budget version uses gear your family already owns (bike helmets, blankets, pillows) and trades the power station for car charging. No safety items are cut.
Weather radio
Same item. This is not where you cut.
Helmets
Use existing bike helmets. Check fit annually.
Shelter bedding
Pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags you already have.
Lanterns + flashlights
Basic LED lanterns and dollar-store flashlights for kids.
Power station
Skip it. Use car charging and a $15 car inverter.
Document bag
A gallon zip-lock bag works until you can upgrade.
Food and water
Store-brand items your kids know.
Comfort bag
Glow sticks, crayons, cards, whistles, a snack.
Budget total
Most families already own helmets and bedding. The budget version is built around what you buy new: a weather radio, some flashlights, food, glow sticks, and a car inverter. Under $100 if you already have helmets.
05 · When to upgrade
These upgrades protect the house itself and extend how long you can ride out a multi-day outage. Add them in order of impact.
Priority 1
Lightning strikes and power restoration surges destroy appliances, HVAC compressors, and electronics. A whole-house surge protector installed at the breaker panel (by a licensed electrician) protects everything behind it. Costs $150 to $300 including installation and pays for itself the first time it catches a surge that would have killed your refrigerator compressor.
$150-$300 installedPriority 2
Severe storms bring heavy rain. Power outages disable electric sump pumps. A battery backup sump pump runs independently when the power fails and keeps the basement dry during exactly the event that produces the most water. Worth every dollar in any house with a basement and a sump pit.
$150-$400Priority 3
A 100W or 200W portable solar panel lets you recharge the power station during the day, extending a three-day kit to a week or longer. Most brands sell matched panels. Even partial sun after a storm front passes adds meaningful charge.
$150-$350Priority 4
A purpose-built shelter that meets FEMA P-361 specifications, installed in a garage, basement, or as a standalone unit. Designed to withstand the most extreme tornado winds. FEMA occasionally offers grants to help offset the cost. This is the highest level of protection for families in tornado-prone areas.
$3,000-$10,000+06 · Maintenance
March is the anchor month. Severe weather season starts in spring across most of the country. Run through the full list before the first watch of the year.
March is the natural checkpoint because severe weather season starts in spring. The tornado drill is the most important line on this table. NOAA recommends practicing at least once a year. Children who have rehearsed the routine treat a real warning as familiar, not terrifying.
07 · Save it
Every item in this kit, with maintenance intervals, in a checklist you can save to your dashboard and run through each March before storm season starts.
Save it to My Readiness and it stays current across devices. Print it and post it on the shelter-room door.