Tornado
Minutes of warning, days of cleanup
Towers and lines go down in a path miles long. You still have first-aid guides, offline maps around the debris, and mesh radios to check on the neighbors.
Why now
The grid and the cell towers fail first
The bigger the storm, the longer you're on your own, and phones go dark exactly when you need answers. These are the official numbers from recent storms.
11 hrs
The average US home lost power for 11 hours in 2024. Big storms caused about 9 of them.
U.S. EIA, Dec 2025 ↗5.9M
Customers in 10 states lost power in Hurricane Helene. Milton cut 3.4 million more in Florida two weeks later.
U.S. EIA, Dec 2025 ↗48.7%
Share of North Carolina cell sites out of service after Helene. In Yancey County it was 91%.
FCC status report, Oct 1 2024 ↗~1 mo
How long Madison County, NC's 911 center couldn't receive 911 calls after Helene.
NC 911 Board after-action report ↗1,558
Tornadoes reported across the US in 2025, above the 15-year average of 1,392.
AccuWeather via UPI, Jan 2026 ↗27
Separate billion-dollar weather disasters hit the US in 2024, after 28 in 2023.
NOAA, Jan 2025 ↗- Works with 0 barsEverything runs on the drive. There's no cloud, no account and no signal needed.
- First aid when help can't reach youMedical encyclopedias and the AI explain wound care, burns and dehydration step by step. A free add-on adds Google's MedGemma medical model.
- Maps and directions offlineFind the nearest hospital, pharmacy or the way out of town when map apps won't load.
- Fix it yourselfiFixit guides and survival manuals cover generators, water filters and repairs.
- Keep the kids learningAll of Wikipedia, with pictures, keeps school going through a long outage.
- Private by designYour questions never leave the device. Nothing to log, sell or leak.
- Pay once, no subscriptionBuy the drive once, or download it free and run it on your own hardware.
- What FEMA's Ready.gov already saysPlan to last several days on your own, with a battery or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio. Ready.gov ↗
Built for the worst days
Every kind of storm
What fails, and what still works when you have the kit.
Hurricane
Millions without power for days
When the grid and cell sites are out across whole states, the library, maps and AI keep running from a power station.
Flood
Roads change in an hour
Offline maps show the routes that exist so you can plan around low ground. Water-treatment guides cover what's safe to drink.
Ice storm
Cold, dark and cut off
Ice snaps lines and keeps crews away. The guides cover heating safely, carbon monoxide and keeping pipes from freezing, all offline.
Free storm-prep guides: Kit checklist · Tornado · Hurricane · Flood · Power outage · Winter storm · Extreme heat · Wildfire smoke · Earthquake
What's on the drive
The whole kit, about 590 GB
These are the same files the Answer Box runs from. Phones on the computer's Wi-Fi can use the library, maps and AI in a browser. Each part works on its own, so a smaller drive or computer can carry a subset.
129 GB
Library
Wikipedia, medical encyclopedias, iFixit repair guides and survival manuals, searchable offline.
130 GB
World map
Street-level maps of the world, with every US town and street address searchable.
61 + 23 GB
Directions
Turn-by-turn routing for driving and walking across the US and Canada, plus address search.
226 GB
AI models
Medical, general and coding models that answer in plain language, including how-tos other AIs refuse, like closing a cut.
20 GB
Voice
Speak a question and hear the answer read back. Hands stay free.
69 GB
Vibe code
Describe the app or script you want and a local coding AI writes it, in the terminal or a web page. No internet or account needed.
Total ≈ 590 GBFits a 1 TB drive with room to spare
Bring your own hardware
Free to download
The software is free. The installer pulls the library, maps and models from their original public sources, so the download costs you nothing beyond your own bandwidth.
- Get the installer. It's free and open source, for Ubuntu Linux: github.com/banksythequantLab/storm-proof-ai ↗
- Pick what to install. Start with the library and maps, and add the AI models if your computer has the memory for them.
- Let it download while the lights are on. The full kit is about 590 GB. On a 300 Mbps line that takes around 4–5 hours.
- Unplug the internet and test it. If it works with the Wi-Fi off, it will work in an outage.
What you need
- Full kit
- A 128 GB Ryzen AI Max+ 395 computer (the chip the kit is tested on), such as the Framework Desktop, Nimo Axis or a mini PC like the GMKtec EVO-X2.
- Library + maps
- Any 64-bit computer that can run Ubuntu, and a 1 TB drive.
- Smaller AI
- A list of models for 32–64 GB machines is coming. It is not tested yet.
- Power
- A portable power station or solar generator for outages (see Power, below).
Skip the download
Loaded drives
Every drive arrives with the full kit installed, checked, and tested offline before it ships. Plug it in and go.
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Works with Ubuntu Linux. Free US shipping. Ships in 5 business days. iFixit guides and the MedGemma medical model aren't preloaded for licensing reasons; one command adds them free on first start (how). Terms & returns
When the phones are down
Radios
Hear the weather alerts and reach the people near you. A mesh radio sends text messages between handsets without any cell tower.
Storm Mesh Pair
Two SenseCAP T1000-E card-sized Meshtastic radios, already set up and paired to each other. Pair them with your phones by Bluetooth and text each other with no signal. No license needed.
$199
Midland ER310
A crank, solar and battery radio with NOAA weather alerts, a flashlight, and a USB port to charge a phone.
~$80See it ↗
Eton Red Cross FRX3
A compact crank and solar weather radio, with NOAA alerts and a phone-charging port.
~$60See it ↗
Partner links: if you buy through a "See it" link, we may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Two-way handhelds: GMRS radios need a $35 FCC license, which lasts 10 years and covers your family, with no exam. We only list radios certified for GMRS, so you won't find Baofeng UV-5R radios here.
Reach the outside world
Satellite backup
Mesh radios cover your street. To get a message, a call or the internet out of a disaster zone when the towers are down, you need a satellite. Here are the three ways, from free to full internet.
Text by satellite
iPhone 14 and later can text emergency services and your contacts by satellite, free for two years after activation. T-Mobile's T-Satellite adds texting and a few apps over Starlink for about $10 a month, and customers of other carriers can add it too.
$0–10/moT-Satellite ↗
Satellite messenger
A small device that sends texts and SOS from anywhere, with no cell service. ZOLEO is about $199 plus a monthly plan you can pause. Garmin inReach Messenger Plus is about $400 and adds photo and voice messages.
from ~$199Compare ↗
Starlink Mini
Real internet, video calls and news from a dish the size of a laptop. It draws about 25–40 watts, so a 286 Wh power station runs it for roughly 6–10 hours from its USB-C port. Keep it on a low-cost standby plan between storms.
~$149–199Starlink ↗
Pair it with the kit: Storm Proof keeps the library, maps and AI working with no connection at all. Satellite adds a way to reach family and get live news. Prices and plans were checked November 8, 2026 and change often; confirm on the provider's site.
Keep it running
Power
A full kit draws about 12 watts sitting idle in field mode and more while answering questions. A 286 Wh power station runs a laptop for about 10–17 more hours of light use.
EcoFlow River 3 Plus
286 Wh LiFePO4 battery with 600 W AC and 100 W USB-C. It's small enough to sit in the car.
~$289See it ↗
Bigger stations
For multi-day outages: EcoFlow, Anker SOLIX, Jackery and Goal Zero stations that take solar panels. Picks are coming with the store.
Soonguide in progress
Field mode
The kit has a field mode that shuts off everything except the offline tools. It cut idle power from 69 W to 12 W on our test box.
−83%idle power
Partner links: if you buy through a "See it" link, we may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Wear it
Merch
Weather the Blackout: a vintage tornado on the front, the line on the back. Printed when you order it, and every drive ships with a free sticker.
Weather the Blackout tee
Vintage screen-print tornado on the front, WEATHER THE BLACKOUT across the back. Black Bella+Canvas 3001.
$29.99
Weather the Blackout hoodie
The same front and back print on a heavy black Gildan 18500 hoodie.
$54.95
Free US shipping. Printed to order and ships within 5 business days. Sizes are unisex. Want your own words? Try our custom two-line tee on Etsy ↗
Questions
Before you buy
Is the drive itself storm proof?
The drive is a normal SSD or flash drive. "Storm Proof" means the kit works through a storm with no power grid or internet. For a crush-resistant drive, add the Pelican micro case.
Can a USB stick run the AI?
Yes, but slowly. Big AI models take a long time to load from a USB stick, while the library and maps feel normal. For the AI, pick the NVMe or USB4 drive.
What computer do I need?
A 64-bit PC running Ubuntu Linux. The 120B model needs a 128 GB machine; the everyday models run on less. First setup needs internet once (about 15 minutes) to install the map, search and directions apps. The library and the AI can also install straight from the drive with no internet.
Does the AI give medical advice?
It gives first-aid information from medical references for when help can't reach you. It doesn't replace a doctor. Call 911 when you can.
Will it get updates?
Yes. Connect it to the internet now and then, and the installer refreshes the library, maps and models.
What are partner picks?
Some links are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. We only list gear we would put in our own kit.