Northwest Arkansas sees its share of severe weather every spring and summer, which brings high winds, hail, lightning, and thunderstorms strong enough to knock out power across entire neighborhoods. At Nash Electric, we see the same pattern every storm season: homeowners from Siloam Springs to Bentonville and everywhere in between dealing with power surges, tripped breakers, and electrical damage they didn’t even know was there. Knowing what to watch for before, during, and after a storm can save you from a much bigger repair down the road.
Worried your home took damage in the last storm? A quick inspection now can catch problems before they turn into something serious.
Call 479-966-5117 if you need an electrician today.
Why Storm Season Is Hard on Your Electrical System
Severe weather doesn’t just knock out the power but also stresses your entire electrical system, often in ways you can’t see from the breaker panel. Common storm-related issues we run into across NWA include:
- Power surges when the grid switches between sources or comes back online
- Lightning strikes that travel through wiring, even without a direct hit to your home
- Downed or damaged power lines feeding into your service connection
- Wind-driven tree limbs damaging service lines, meters, or panels
- Water intrusion around outdoor outlets, panels, and meter bases during heavy rain
Any one of these can cause damage that isn’t obvious until weeks later, typically when an appliance fails or a circuit stops working for no clear reason.
Warning Signs of Storm-Related Electrical Damage
After a storm rolls through, it’s worth taking a few minutes to check your home before assuming everything is fine. Watch for:
- Lights that flicker, dim, or buzz after power is restored
- Breakers that trip repeatedly or won’t reset
- Outlets or switches that look scorched, feel warm, or smell like burning
- GFCI outlets that won’t reset, especially outdoors or near water
- Appliances or electronics that stopped working right after the storm
- A burning smell near your electrical panel
If you notice any of these, contact us immediately, as storm damage tends to get worse, not better, the longer it goes unchecked.
How to Protect Your Home Before the Next Storm
You can’t control Northwest Arkansas weather, but you can control how well your electrical system holds up against it.
- Install a whole-home surge protector. Protects every circuit in your home from voltage spikes, not just whatever’s plugged into a power strip
- Test your GFCI outlets. Press test/reset on outdoor, kitchen, and bathroom outlets monthly so they’re ready to do their job
- Trim trees and limbs near power lines. Wind-snapped branches are one of the most common causes of storm-related outages and service line damage
- Schedule a panel inspection. An aging or overloaded panel is far more likely to fail under storm stress. Schedule your inspection with Nash Electric here.
- Consider a backup generator. A professionally installed backup generator can keep essential circuits running during extended power outages, helping protect your home, comfort, and peace of mind. Nash Electric provides expert generator installation services throughout Northwest Arkansas.
A little prep now is a lot cheaper than an emergency repair call later.
What to Do During and After a Storm
Safety comes first, both during the storm and once it passes.
- Never touch a downed power line. Assume it’s live and call your utility company immediately
- Stay away from flooded outlets, panels, or outdoor electrical equipment
- Never run a generator indoors or in an attached garage
- If it’s safe to do so, unplug sensitive electronics before power is restored to avoid surge damage
- Once power is back, watch for the warning signs above before assuming your system is fine
When in doubt, treat anything unusual with your electrical system after a storm as a reason to call a professional.
When to Call a Licensed Electrician
Some storm damage is obvious. Some isn’t. If you’ve experienced an outage, a lightning strike nearby, or any of the warning signs above, it’s worth having a licensed electrician take a look, especially before you assume a tripped breaker or dead outlet is a one-time fluke.
Nash Electric offers electrical repairs and troubleshooting and full electrical inspections throughout Northwest Arkansas, including post-storm checks to catch hidden damage before it becomes a bigger problem.
