Duke Energy emphasizes having plan for power outages as severe weather nears

Duke Energy has several thousand line workers on standby and crews and getting trucks ready for what could be a busy day on Thursday. The Triangle is at a level 3 risk for severe weather with damaging winds and hail possible.

Counties south and east of the Triangle could see a tornado pop up.

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The workers can be distributed to other communities, depending on which ones are hit the hardest.

"I think that this storm is a great opportunity for every one of our customers to think about what their emergency plan would be if they lost power for an extended period of time," said Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy. "Some people lost power during the recent ice storm. But if you didn't, what is the plan you would have in place?"

You'll want to charge your devices and download the WRAL weather app so you can receive the latest weather alerts on your phone or tablet. Preparing a safe space, gathering a stash of snacks, water and securing a first aid kit are also important steps.

"Our crews right now are preparing, going through their inventories, getting their trucks and their equipment ready in the event that we do see outages," Brooks said. "Those outages could be locally concentrated or they could be spread out."

Brooks said they have not yet called on crews from other states to help.