Know when to act. Before it's urgent.
Brace For It turns the forecast for your ZIP code into one status, one countdown and one next move.
Free · No account · Sources: National Weather Service, FEMA, county data
ZIP lookup
- What it is
- A free, live readout of what the weather means for homes in your ZIP code, built only from official forecasts and local records.
- Why it's here
- Forecasts tell you the weather. They don't tell you that soaked ground plus 45 mph gusts means trees come down, or that flood insurance takes 30 days to start.
- What it helps with
- Knowing whether to act today, what to do first, and how much time you have before conditions turn.
- How to use it
- Type your ZIP and press Lock on. On your ZIP page, tell it a little about your home (rent or own, car, big trees) and the to-do list adjusts. Bookmark or share the link; your settings travel with it.
Official data in. One next move out.
Read the official forecast
Hour-by-hour rain, wind and temperature from the National Weather Service for your exact grid square, plus how much rain has already soaked in.
See how hazards stack
Brace Engine checks ten hazards day by day and how they compound. The same wind is far more dangerous after a week of rain.
Get one status and one move
A status for your ZIP, a countdown to when it turns, and the single most useful thing to do today for your kind of home.
Calm is a status too.
Brace For It's own math only goes as far as Getting close. Watches and Warnings come from the National Weather Service, never from us.
- Prep Mode
Nothing big in the next week. The best time for slow jobs: flood insurance, gutters, a tree check.
- Heads-up
Something worth planning around within 7 days. Start the jobs that take a few days.
- Getting close
A significant day within 4 days, or two hazards stacking. Finish your prep now.
- Watch
The National Weather Service has issued a watch or advisory for your area. NWS ONLY
- Warning
An NWS warning or a utility power shutoff is in effect. Follow official instructions. NWS / UTILITY ONLY
Slow jobs, done while it’s calm.
Each guide has one small tool and the official sources behind it.
Flood insurance
A new policy takes 30 days. See when one bought today would start.
Coverage calculator →Kit builder
The gallons of water and days of food your household needs.
Build my kit →Tree walk
Warning signs to check from the ground before the wind does.
Walk my yard →Car check
Tires, wipers and a car kit before the first rain.
Check my car →Shutoffs
Find your water, gas and power shutoffs and print a card.
Find mine →The strongest El Niño start on record.
Big El Niño winters have brought California its wettest seasons: 1982–83 and 1997–98. This one is running stronger for the time of year than either.
Highest for that season since records began in 1950. 1997: +1.79. 2015: +1.73. (NOAA CPC)
Wetter than normal from California to Florida, issued Oct 15, 2026.
Most new policies take 30 days to start, so buy before the storms are in the forecast. The NFIP is authorized only through Dec 11, 2026.