We've been through every major storm to hit this coast since 1983. Andrew, Charley, Irma, Ian — we were here before, during, and after each one. This guide isn't a generic checklist pulled off the internet. It's what we actually tell our neighbors, our VIP members, and our own families when a storm is coming.
When the National Hurricane Center issues a Watch for Southwest Florida, you have roughly 72 hours before conditions deteriorate. That's your window. Once a Warning is issued, it shrinks to 36 hours. Here's how to use that time.
The biggest mistake we see every year: homeowners wait until the Warning to call us. By then, our schedule is full, parts are backordered, and generator installers across the county are booked three weeks out. The families who weather storms best are the ones who prepared in May.
Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30. Peak season is August through October. If you're reading this in the spring, you have time to do everything right. If a storm is already named and heading your way, scroll to the bottom for what you can still do in the next 48 hours.
Bookmark these before a storm is named. When you need them, your internet may be slow and your nerves may be high.
National Hurricane Center — nhc.noaa.gov — The only source that matters for storm track and intensity. Sign up for email alerts and check the 5-day cone every morning during peak season.
Manatee County Emergency Management — mymanatee.org/emergency — Your local authority for evacuation zones, shelter locations, and county-specific guidance. Know your evacuation zone before a storm is named. Manatee County uses zones A through F, and zone A includes most of Anna Maria Island, parts of Palmetto, and low-lying coastal areas.
Manatee County Shelter Locator — Call 311 or visit mymanatee.org to find your nearest designated shelter. Several Manatee County schools serve as Red Cross shelters during major storms. If you have a generator, a well-stocked home, and you're not in a mandatory evacuation zone, you may be able to shelter in place — but have a plan either way.
FPL Outage Map — fpl.com/outage — During and after the storm, this is how you track when power is being restored to your neighborhood. If you have a whole-home generator, you won't need it. If you don't, bookmark it.
511 Florida — fl511.com — Road conditions and bridge closures. The bridges connecting Anna Maria Island, Holmes Beach, and Bradenton Beach are among the first to close when sustained winds reach 39 mph. If you're on the island and a Category 2 or higher is forecast, leave early.
Your air conditioning system is one of the most vulnerable parts of your home during a hurricane — and one of the most critical after one. Here's what to do at each stage.
Schedule a pre-season AC tune-up in May. A system that's running efficiently and has been recently serviced handles the abuse of storm season far better than one that's been limping along. We check refrigerant levels, clean coils, inspect electrical connections, clear drain lines, and make sure everything is tight. One tune-up prevents a lot of post-storm headaches.
Clear debris from around your outdoor condenser unit. Trim any tree branches or shrubs within three feet. Flying debris is the #1 cause of condenser damage during storms — and a bent or punctured condenser coil is an expensive repair.
Consider an AC condenser cover or hurricane straps if you're in an exposed area. We can advise on the right approach for your specific system and location. Some systems — particularly those on elevated pads near the coast — benefit from additional securing.
Pre-cool your home before you lose power. If a storm is 12-24 hours away and you know power loss is likely, drop your thermostat to 68°F. A well-insulated home stays cooler longer. In Florida's summer heat, a pre-cooled house buys you meaningful comfort time after the power goes out.
Turn off your AC at the breaker if conditions are severe. This protects the compressor and electrical components from power surges during the storm. If you have a surge protector on your AC system (and you should — see our Electrical section below), it provides additional protection, but shutting down at the breaker is still smart practice.
Do not run window units during the storm. They're not designed to operate in hurricane-force winds and can become projectiles or entry points for water.
Walk around the outside of your home before restoring power to the AC. Look at the condenser unit: is it still upright? Are the fins intact? Is there visible debris impact damage? Is there standing water around the unit? If the unit looks physically undamaged and was properly secured, it's likely fine to restart.
Wait 30 minutes after power is restored before turning the AC back on. Power restoration often comes with surges and fluctuations. Give the grid a moment to stabilize. Then bring your system back on gradually — thermostat first, not the breaker.
If your AC isn't cooling after the storm, don't panic and don't keep cycling it on and off. Call us at (941) 778-0773. We dispatch technicians throughout Manatee County as soon as it's safe to drive. Our VIP members get priority scheduling post-storm — which in the days after a major hurricane can mean the difference between waiting 4 hours and waiting 4 days.
Most homeowners don't think about plumbing when they think about hurricane prep. They should. Here's what we see after every major storm in Manatee County.
Every adult in your household should know where the main water shutoff valve is and how to turn it off. In Manatee County, most homes have the shutoff near the water meter, typically in a box near the street or at the foundation of the home. If a pipe bursts during the storm, you need to shut off water fast — before you have significant water damage.
Fill your bathtubs. Before the storm arrives, fill every bathtub with clean water using a WaterBOB or just the drain plug. This gives you a reserve for flushing toilets if water service is disrupted. After major hurricanes in Manatee County, water service disruptions lasting 24-72 hours are not uncommon in heavily impacted areas.
If you're evacuating, consider shutting off your main water supply. This protects your home from pipe breaks while you're away and prevents flooding if a supply line fails while you're not there to catch it.
Storm surge and flooding can overwhelm sewer systems. After a major hurricane, avoid using toilets, sinks, and showers until Manatee County Utilities confirms the system is operating normally. Flushing into an overwhelmed sewer system can cause backups into your home.
Inspect all exposed plumbing after the storm. Look under sinks, in the garage, and around the water heater for signs of pipe movement, corrosion, or damage. A slow drip you ignored before the storm may have become a bigger problem.
If you have a well and septic system — common in parts of eastern Manatee County, Parrish, and rural areas — have both inspected after major flooding. Septic systems can be damaged by flood water, and well water should be tested before drinking after any flooding event. Manatee County Environmental Management offers post-storm guidance at mymanatee.org.
Electrical damage is one of the most expensive and most preventable storm-related problems we see. Here's what makes the difference.
When power is restored after an outage — whether it's a two-hour blip from a minor storm or a week-long outage after a major hurricane — the grid often comes back with voltage spikes. These surges can destroy your AC compressor, your refrigerator, your TV, your dishwasher, and anything else with a circuit board. A single surge event can cause $5,000 to $15,000 in appliance damage.
A whole-home surge protector installs at your electrical panel and costs $300-600 installed. It's the best ROI in hurricane prep. Point-of-use surge strips protect individual devices but don't protect your AC, pool pump, or appliances that are hardwired. You need both.
If your home's electrical panel is more than 20 years old, have it inspected before storm season. Older panels — including Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels that were common in Florida construction through the 1980s — have known safety issues and are not rated for the electrical demands of modern homes. A panel failure during or after a storm, when you're running generators and restarting appliances, is a serious safety hazard.
Our licensed electricians (License #ED13011350) inspect panels throughout Manatee County. If you're unsure what you have, call us before June.
Never run a portable generator inside your home, garage, or enclosed porch. Carbon monoxide kills. Every year after major hurricanes, Floridians die from CO poisoning from improperly placed generators. Keep portable generators at least 20 feet from any door, window, or vent. If you smell exhaust inside, get everyone out immediately and call 911.
Treat every downed power line as live and deadly. After the storm, do not approach downed lines, do not drive over them, and do not let children near them. Report them to FPL at 1-800-4-OUTAGE.
If your home flooded, do not restore electrical power until a licensed electrician has inspected the system. Water and electricity are not compatible. A flooded electrical panel or outlets need professional evaluation before anything is turned back on.
We'll be straightforward with you: if you live in Manatee County and you don't have a whole-home standby generator, a major hurricane will be genuinely miserable. The power can be out for 7-14 days after a significant storm. In August. Without AC.
We install Kohler standby generators because they're the best. They run on your existing natural gas or LP supply, they start automatically within seconds of a power outage, and they can run your entire home — AC, refrigerator, lights, medical equipment, the whole thing — for as long as fuel is available. You don't go outside. You don't deal with extension cords. Life keeps running.
Generator sizing is based on your home's electrical load, not just its square footage. A 20kW generator typically handles a 2,000-2,500 square foot home with central AC. A 38kW generator handles larger homes with 2 AC systems. We perform a load calculation for every home before recommending a size — the worst outcome is installing a generator that can't handle your actual needs.
Kohler's lineup runs from 14kW to 150kW. For most Manatee County homes, the 20kW through 38kW range covers everything. We're a Kohler Titanium Dealer and Bold Certified — which means we receive factory training and technical support that most dealers don't have access to.
A whole-home generator installation typically takes 1-2 days once the unit arrives. The timeline from initial consultation to finished install is usually 3-6 weeks in normal conditions. When a named storm is approaching, that timeline becomes impossible. We stop scheduling new installations 7-10 days before projected landfall.
If you're reading this in February, March, April, or May — call us now. (941) 778-0773. By June, our installation schedule is full through hurricane season. Every year, we turn away dozens of families who waited too long. We take no pleasure in that.
A standby generator is only valuable if it starts when you need it. Kohler's OnCue Plus monitoring system lets us and you monitor your generator's status remotely — we can see if it ran its automatic weekly test, check oil levels, and diagnose issues before they become failures. Annual maintenance is essential. We service all makes and models of standby generators throughout Manatee County.
Print this out. Put it somewhere you'll find it when the season starts.
☐ Schedule AC pre-season tune-up with Air & Energy (941-778-0773) ☐ Have electrical panel inspected if it's more than 20 years old ☐ Install whole-home surge protector if you don't have one ☐ Service your standby generator (or schedule Kohler installation) ☐ Know your Manatee County evacuation zone at mymanatee.org ☐ Locate and test your main water shutoff valve ☐ Trim trees and shrubs within 3 feet of AC condenser unit ☐ Review your homeowner's insurance policy for wind and flood coverage ☐ Stock 3 gallons of water per person per day for 7 days ☐ Charge and test any battery backups or portable power stations
☐ Monitor NHC at nhc.noaa.gov every 6 hours ☐ Check mymanatee.org for evacuation zone status ☐ Pre-cool your home to 68°F if power loss is likely ☐ Fill all bathtubs with fresh water ☐ Secure or bring in outdoor furniture and AC condenser covers ☐ Test your generator — run it under load ☐ Refuel vehicles and portable fuel cans ☐ Gather important documents: insurance, IDs, medications ☐ Check FPL outage map bookmark: fpl.com/outage
☐ If in mandatory evacuation zone: LEAVE NOW ☐ If sheltering in place: move to interior rooms away from windows ☐ Turn off AC at the breaker ☐ Shut off main water supply if evacuating ☐ Unplug major appliances unless protected by whole-home surge ☐ Charge all phones and battery banks to 100% ☐ Anna Maria Island residents: bridges close at 39 mph sustained winds
☐ Wait for official all-clear before going outside ☐ Treat all downed power lines as live ☐ Walk exterior before restoring AC power ☐ Wait 30 minutes after power restoration before turning on AC ☐ Do not run AC if condenser is visibly damaged — call us first ☐ Inspect plumbing for visible damage before restoring water ☐ Do not use plumbing if sewer system is compromised ☐ If home flooded: do not restore electrical until inspected ☐ Document all damage with photos for insurance before cleanup ☐ Call Air & Energy at (941) 778-0773 for AC, plumbing, or electrical service
Yes. When conditions deteriorate — especially if severe wind, heavy rain, or a power surge is likely — turn your AC off at the breaker. This protects the compressor and electrical components. If you have whole-home surge protection, the risk is reduced, but shutting down is still the safer choice.
It depends on your home's insulation, construction, and how well you seal it up. A pre-cooled, well-insulated Florida home might stay below 80°F for 4-6 hours in summer heat. After that, temperatures rise fast. This is why a whole-home generator is so valuable — your AC never has to stop.
Don't keep cycling it on and off. Turn it off and call us. Post-storm AC failures are usually one of three things: a refrigerant leak from physical damage to the condenser, a failed capacitor from a power surge, or a tripped safety switch from a clogged drain line (rain can cause overflow). All of these are repairable. (941) 778-0773.
April and May. You beat the summer rush, you have time to address any issues before the heat arrives, and you have your system running at peak efficiency before it starts working 12 hours a day. Book with our VIP program and you get two annual visits, priority scheduling, and 10% off all repairs.
Usually not. Central AC systems typically require 240V power and draw 15-20 amps or more at startup. Most portable generators can't handle this load. A portable generator can power window units, fans, refrigerators, and lights. A whole-home Kohler standby generator handles your full electrical load including central AC. If you're relying on a portable generator for AC, a window unit is your best option.
Manatee County uses evacuation zones A through F. Zone A is the most at-risk and includes much of Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Beach, parts of Holmes Beach, and low-lying coastal areas. Zones B and C cover areas at risk from Category 2 and Category 3 storms. Look up your specific property at mymanatee.org or call the Manatee County Emergency Management line at (941) 749-3500. Knowing your zone before a storm is named is not optional.
AC tune-up, surge protection, generator installation, electrical panel inspection — we do it all. One call covers everything. And our team has been doing it in Manatee County since 1983.
