Ice storm power outage in Oklahoma City: what to do in the first hour, the first night and after

Ice is heavier than it looks. Freezing rain coats every limb and line, and trees that would shrug off wind start dropping branches onto the wires. The October 26 to 28, 2020 storm put at least an inch and a half of freezing rain on central Oklahoma, the first October ice storm warning the Norman weather office had ever issued, and left hundreds of thousands of people without power.

Repairs take time because the damage is everywhere at once. Eleven days after that storm began, the state still counted 54,490 outages, including 42,433 in Oklahoma City. Knowing that a long outage is possible changes what you do in the first hour.

If the whole street is dark, the fault is on the utility's side and the fix is theirs. If your neighbors have power and you do not, or only part of your house works, the problem may be your service drop, the mast and meter on the side of the house, or the main breaker.

Look at the outside of the house from a safe distance. A mast bent or pulled away from the wall, a service drop hanging low or a meter base pulled loose means the house side needs an electrician. The utility can restore the line to the pole, but it will not reconnect a damaged house until the repair is made and, where required, inspected.

Most gas furnaces still need electricity for the blower and controls, so a gas house can be cold in an outage too. A generator connected through a transfer switch or interlock can run the furnace; an extension cord cannot. Space heaters on a generator should be plugged in directly, never on a shared cord with other loads.

Homes on wells lose water when the pump loses power. If your property depends on a well, plan generator capacity for the pump's starting load, and keep stored water for the first day. Open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls to keep pipes from freezing while the heat is off.

Once it is safe to be outside, walk around the house and look at the service mast, the weatherhead, the drip loop and the meter base. Photograph anything bent, pulled or scorched for the insurance claim before repairs begin, and note any limbs still resting on the service drop.

Inside, check the panel for signs of water, look for breakers that will not stay on, and test GFCI outlets. If the storm exposed weak spots, such as no surge protection or no safe way to connect a generator, that is the time to plan a whole-home surge protector or a transfer switch before the next one.