November is the Month You Don’t Feel Like Preparing (Which is Exactly Why You Should)

In most of Canada, November is a strange in-between month. It’s not quite “deep winter,” but it’s also not fall anymore. The days get shorter, the air gets sharper, and the weather starts throwing curveballs—wet snow that clings to trees, wind that takes down tired branches, freezing rain that makes everything heavier than it looks.

And if there’s a month that loves power outages, it’s November. Not because it’s the most dramatic month, but because it’s the sneaky one. November outages tend to show up before we feel fully “in winter,” when life is still running on normal routines right up until the moment you hear that click… and the house goes quiet.

A January outage is brutal, but it’s expected. November outages hit differently because they land in the middle of regular life—busy schedules, early cold snaps, and storms that don’t always look serious until they are. Trees are stressed, branches come down more easily, and wind mixed with wet precipitation is a recipe for trouble on power lines.

When the power goes out, the first inconveniences are obvious: lights, Wi-Fi, stove, and all the little things that keep a house feeling normal. But the real stress is the domino effect. Heat becomes uncertain (especially if your system needs electricity to circulate), food becomes a countdown clock, and your phone becomes your connection to the world—and your most fragile lifeline.

This is why November is such a useful month. It gives you a chance to prepare calmly, before winter really digs in. The goal isn’t to become an emergency-prepper. It’s to reduce scrambling later.

A simple November way to think about outage readiness

• Stay warm: Know what happens to your heating system if power drops, and what your safe alternatives are.

• Stay connected: Make sure you can charge devices and keep basic internet/communications running when you need it.

• Stay safe & dry: If you rely on a sump pump or other critical home systems, don’t assume “it’ll be fine.”

Staying warm is the part people tend to avoid thinking about, because it forces practical questions. Some heating systems can generate heat but still need electricity to run fans, pumps, or controls. Some homes hold warmth well—until a longer outage slowly drains that heat away. Portable heaters can help, but they introduce safety and power-load concerns if you’re improvising. Even fireplaces have caveats: not everyone has enough wood, some inserts rely on fans, and many people only realize too late they haven’t checked basics since last season.

Staying connected matters more than it used to. Outages aren’t just “no lights.” They’re also lost communication, lost updates, and disrupted work. A lot of people discover their home internet depends on multiple devices (modem + router + mesh units), and that phones drain quickly when they become hotspots. A small, organized backup plan—charging options, a few reliable lights, and a clear place where the essentials live—goes a long way.

Keeping the home safe and dry is the quieter risk that can turn into the biggest headache. The same storms that knock out power can bring rain, melting snow, and saturated ground. If your sump pump stops, water doesn’t wait politely for the grid to come back. November is a smart time to think through what happens if power drops right when your home needs that system the most.

The “two-hour test” that tells you what you need to know

• Turn off the lights and avoid the kitchen shortcuts for two hours one evening.

• Don’t use Wi-Fi unless you can power the modem/router.

• Use only what you’d have in a real outage and see what breaks first.

It’s simple, but it’s honest. You’ll learn quickly whether your flashlights actually work, how your home feels without heat circulation, and whether your “plan” is a plan—or just optimism.

Backup power fits into all of this in a very practical way. The goal isn’t to power every single thing in your home. It’s to keep the essentials running—heat systems where applicable, fridge/freezer, a few lights, charging, and any critical home systems like sump pumps. Most households don’t need “everything.” They need reliability where it matters.

November is the right month to take this seriously because you still have runway. You can make adjustments, test your setup, and get through the season with fewer surprises.

Winter will do what it does. Our job is to make sure your home stays steady when it does.