| Hours to landfall | Online orders | Local stores | Your move |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72+ | Reliable | Full stock | Buy the right thing |
| 48 | Next-day only, confirm at checkout | Thinning fast | Buy the available thing |
| 24 | Assume it will not arrive | Stripped | Buy locally or stop |
| 12 or less | None | Closed or empty | Execute, don't shop |
🌀 The storm is 72 hours out. Here's what you can still do.
▲ The one rule
Order by tonight or don't order at all. Roughly 48 hours before landfall is the last point a delivery reliably arrives — and only if checkout confirms a next-day date. Carriers suspend delivery inside the cone once warnings go up, typically 24–36 hours out. Everything after that is free, takes minutes, and matters more than you think.
Jump to your window: 72+ hours out · 48 hours out · 24 hours out · 12 hours or less
72+ hours outCone is wide. You can still buy anything.
Order tonight. This is the last window where standard shipping still works and stock is still normal.
- Order your power station now — this is the only band where a 2kWh+ unit will realistically arrive.
- Order a solar panel with it. Gas stations lose power too; solar is the only recharge that always works.
- Fill freezer space with water jugs. Frozen mass doubles how long a freezer holds.
- Fill the car. Lines start at 48 hours, not 24.
- Refill prescriptions — Florida allows early emergency refills once a state of emergency is declared.
Still orderable in this window
Anker SOLIX F2600 $$ · mid-range
Fridge + medical device for multiple days
Check price →Fridge + medical device for multiple days
EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus $$ · mid-range
The default 1kWh pick for most homes
Check price →The default 1kWh pick for most homes
Renogy 200W Portable Foldable $ · budget
200W solar — makes the battery renewable
Check price →200W solar — makes the battery renewable
Paid Amazon links (disclosure). Verify the delivery date at checkout before ordering.
48 hours outWatches are going up. Shipping is tightening.
Only order what ships next-day. Stop shopping for the perfect unit and buy the available one.
- Verify a next-day delivery date at checkout before ordering — not the listing estimate, the checkout date.
- Charge every battery in the house to 100%: phones, laptops, power banks, tool batteries, the power station.
- Buy the small things now — they vanish first. Batteries, lanterns, coolers, ice, extension cords.
- Test your CO detector if any generator will run nearby.
- Photograph insurance documents, prescriptions and IDs to cloud storage.
Still orderable in this window
Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 $$ · mid-range
Widely stocked 1kWh with the highest surge in its class
Check price →Widely stocked 1kWh with the highest surge in its class
Kidde 10-Yr CO Detector (C3010D) $ · budget
CO detector — buy it even if you buy nothing else
Check price →CO detector — buy it even if you buy nothing else
LETMY Rechargeable Camping Lanterns (4-pack) $ · budget
Rechargeable lantern — first thing to sell out
Check price →Rechargeable lantern — first thing to sell out
Paid Amazon links (disclosure). Verify the delivery date at checkout before ordering.
24 hours outWarnings issued. Shelves are stripping.
Assume nothing new arrives. Work with what is already in the house, plus whatever is still on a local shelf.
- Stop ordering. Carriers begin suspending delivery in the cone at this point.
- Freeze water bottles and gel packs. They become both cooling and drinking water.
- Move medication and the most valuable perishables to the coldest part of the freezer.
- Pre-cook and pre-chill. A cold, full fridge holds far longer than a warm, empty one.
- Position the generator plan: 20+ feet from any window, door or vent. Never in a garage.
- Set the AC colder than usual. You are pre-chilling the house itself.
Still orderable in this window
Anker SOLIX C300 DC $ · budget
Small, cheap, usually still in stock locally
Check price →Small, cheap, usually still in stock locally
Midland ER310 Crank Weather Radio $ · budget
Crank weather radio — works with everything else dead
Check price →Crank weather radio — works with everything else dead
20000mAh Rechargeable Camping Fan with LED Lantern $ · budget
Battery fan — the difference between miserable and tolerable
Check price →Battery fan — the difference between miserable and tolerable
Paid Amazon links (disclosure). Verify the delivery date at checkout before ordering.
12 hours or lessNothing is arriving. Execute only.
Buying is over. Everything from here is free and takes minutes.
- Top off every battery one last time.
- Fill bathtubs and every container with water — for flushing, not drinking.
- Turn the fridge and freezer to their coldest settings.
- Put a thermometer in the fridge and one in the freezer. After the outage, that reading is your only evidence food stayed under 40°F.
- Charge the car to full and park it away from trees. A car is a phone charger and an air-conditioned room.
- Write down your evacuation trigger — the specific battery percentage or hour at which you leave.
- Unplug electronics. Surges on restoration destroy more equipment than the outage itself.
▲ If you buy exactly one thing
A working carbon monoxide detector (paid link), if any generator will run near your home. Generator CO poisoning kills roughly 85 people a year in the US. If CO is already covered, buy a 1kWh power station (paid link) — roughly 14–20 hours of refrigerator runtime and every device in the house charged.
Shipping reality by hours remaining
Common questions when the clock is running
How late can I order backup power before a hurricane?
Roughly 48 hours before landfall is the practical cutoff, and only if checkout confirms a next-day delivery date. Carriers suspend delivery inside the cone once warnings are issued, typically 24 to 36 hours out. Beyond 48 hours, order anything; inside 24, buy locally or not at all.
What should I buy first if I only have one purchase left?
A working carbon monoxide detector if any generator will run near your home, because generator CO poisoning kills roughly 85 people a year in the US. If CO is already covered, buy a 1kWh power station — it runs a refrigerator for about 17 hours and charges every device in the house.
Is it too late to buy a solar panel?
If the storm is under 48 hours out, yes — buy the battery and skip the panel. A battery without solar still covers a one to two day outage. Add the panel after the storm for the next one; solar is what turns a fixed number of hours into indefinite runtime.
Should I fill the bathtub with water?
Yes, but for flushing toilets and washing, not for drinking. Store drinking water separately in clean, sealed containers — one gallon per person per day for at least seven days.
Do I need to unplug appliances before the storm?
Yes. Restoration surges destroy more electronics than the outage does. Unplug televisions, computers and small appliances, and leave one lamp plugged in so you can see when power returns.
Do these next
Work the 10-point pre-storm systems check to find your gaps, size a battery with the runtime calculator, and readhow long food actually stays cold before you decide what is worth saving. If a generator is part of your plan, readgenerator safety first — it is the part of hurricane prep that kills people.
▲ Get the seasonal update
Next storm, get this countdown in your inbox the moment a system enters the Gulf — with the order-by deadline computed. Two emails a year, nothing else.
Written and maintained by Hilario Herrera. Timing guidance reflects observed carrier behavior during Florida hurricane warnings and is a planning heuristic, not a guarantee — always confirm the delivery date shown at checkout. Reviewed August 15, 2026. Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov andFlorida Division of Emergency Management.