Gale Prep Checklist for UK Homes: 10 Jobs to Do Before the Wind Picks Up

The Met Office usually names a storm a day or two before it reaches us, which gives you a genuinely useful window. Not enough time to do everything, but plenty to do the things that matter. Most damage to UK homes during a gale isn't dramatic: it's a fence panel through a kitchen window, a trampoline on a conservatory roof, a wheelie bin that ends up in a neighbour's car. Work through this list in order and you'll have removed most of the risk before the first gusts arrive.

1. Deal With Everything That Can Fly

Loose objects are the single biggest cause of avoidable storm damage. Anything light enough to lift will lift, and once it's airborne you have no control over where it lands.

• Trampolines: turn them upside down, stake them down, or take them apart and store the net and poles.
• Garden furniture, parasols, gazebos and barbecue covers — bring them inside or into a locked shed.
• Wheelie bins and recycling boxes: bring them in, or lay bins on their side and weight the lid with a brick.
• Plant pots, hanging baskets, watering cans, rotary washing lines and hosepipe reels.
• Children's toys, footballs, scooter, bikes and anything else that lives on the patio.
• Gas bottles, which should be moved into a shed or garage, and never stored near a boiler or heater.

If you have a shed, check the roof felt and door bolts first — an unsecured shed door will bang all night and can tear itself off its hinges.

2. Roof, Gutters and Anything Already Loose

Do this bit in calm weather, never once the wind is up. From ground level, look along the roofline for slipped tiles or slates, and check chimney pots, the TV aerial and any satellite dish. If something looks wrong, or you simply aren't confident on a ladder, ring a roofer now rather than after the storm.

Clear leaves and moss from gutters and downpipes if you can do it safely. Blocked gutters don't just overflow — the weight of standing water can pull a fascia board away. Check fence posts, gates and anything screwed to an external wall, and note anything that already wobbles, so you know where to look afterwards.

3. Windows, Doors and the Garage

Close and latch every window properly, including small top-lights that you rarely open. Skip the old advice about taping glass: it doesn't strengthen a pane and tends to produce larger, more dangerous shards when something does break.

Where a window faces the prevailing wind, move furniture, lamps and anything breakable away from it, and draw the curtains — fabric will slow flying glass. Closing internal doors limits the damage if a window does go, because it stops the pressure driving through the house.

Check side gates and garage doors. Up-and-over garage doors can lift in strong gusts, so secure them if you can. If you have a car and a solid garage, it's usually safer inside than under a tree.

4. Prepare for a Power Cut Before It Happens

Power cuts are the most likely thing you'll actually experience, and they're easier to handle with ten minutes' preparation.

• A torch or head torch for each person, plus spare batteries. Avoid candles — the fire risk isn't worth it.
• Charge phones, tablets and power banks while you still can.
• Find your fuse box now, and keep a battery or wind-up radio for local updates.
• Know the number: 105 connects you to your local electricity network operator to report a power cut.
• Keep the fridge and freezer shut. A full freezer holds its temperature for much longer than a half-empty one, so fill gaps with frozen bread or ice packs.

If anyone in the house depends on powered medical equipment, contact your network operator in advance — they keep a priority register. If you have medication that needs refrigerating, ask your pharmacist or GP what to do during an outage rather than guessing.

One safety point that saves lives every year: never use a barbecue, camping stove or portable generator indoors, in a garage, porch or conservatory. They produce carbon monoxide, which is colourless and can be fatal.

5. Water, Food and the Small Comforts

Fill a few bottles with drinking water and, if you have a bath, consider filling it for flushing and washing. Put together a small kit that doesn't need cooking: bread, cereal bars, fruit, long-life milk, a manual tin opener and a flask. Add a first aid kit, any prescription medicines, pet food, warm blankets, and wellies with waterproofs by the door.

Draw out some cash. Card readers, ATMs and fuel pumps can all be affected by a local outage, and a few notes save a lot of hassle. Keep important documents in one dry, obvious place, along with your home insurance policy number — most insurers run a 24-hour claims line.

6. Cars, Neighbours and the Space Beyond Your Gate

Park away from trees, high walls, chimney stacks and scaffolding, and avoid the spot directly under a large branch that's been looking tired for years. Don't park where a fallen fence or bin could reach the paintwork.

Warn neighbours if you can. Boundary fences are a shared problem, and someone with a loose panel next door to you is worth a quick conversation. If you have an elderly or vulnerable neighbour, check they have a torch, a charged phone and someone to call. Bring pets indoors well before the worst of it and give anxious dogs a quiet room with the radio on.

When the Wind Arrives, Stop

Once the gusts start, your preparation is done and the only sensible job is staying put. Keep away from windows, don't go out to rescue a bin or a plant pot, and don't drive during a red warning — falling branches, wheelie bins and blown debris are the real hazards, not the rain.

Afterwards, survey the damage from the ground. Treat every fallen cable as live and ring 105 to report it; never touch or move one. Photograph any damage before you clear it up, then contact your insurer. If a repair involves heights, electricity or structural work, book a qualified tradesperson instead of improvising. Then make a note of what you'd do differently next time — that's how a checklist becomes a habit.

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