Most of us have experienced it at one time or another: As a storm rages outside, the lights suddenly go out and you hear an unsettling silence—coming from your refrigerator/freezer.

Power outages are relatively common in areas prone to severe weather. Thunderstorms, floods, blizzards, ice storms and hurricanes are just a few of the natural wonders that can zap the electrical juice from your home in an instant.

Eventually the power will return, but until that happens, how do you keep your food safe?

Before the storm

While it is impossible to predict or prevent most power outages, there are steps you can take to have your refrigerator and freezer battle-ready when the storm finally strikes.

For starters, always keep your freezer set at 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-17.8 degrees Celsius) or below and your refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 degrees Celsius) or below. This will ensure that your food is stored in the best condition, which will help it to last longer after the power goes out.

The amount of food in your freezer also plays a big role in how long it can remain safe after an outage. Foods may remain frozen for up to two days in a full freezer as long as the freezer temperature was set at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower at the time of the outage. If the freezer is half-full or less, food may only keep for a day.

If you know in advance that a storm will be coming, group items together in your freezer to keep them colder. Also, always keep meats, fish and poultry on the lowest shelf in your freezer. That way, the juices will not contaminate other foods if the meat begins to thaw.