LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – As the ice storm makes its way to Central Arkansas, electric companies and homeowners are getting prepared.

The preparation has begun, and Arkansans are making sure their home is ready for the ice storm.

“With an ice storm coming, and having been through a few of these before, I know the possibility of an extended power outage,” said homeowner, David Lewis.

Companies like Entergy and Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas said they have already gone into storm mode, even bringing in extra crews for support, because ice can be a major concern.

“Up to a half of inch of ice can be an additional 500 pounds of pressure on tree limbs and power lines, so if we get that much, we do expect there to be some power outages,” said Spokesperson for Entergy, Brandi Hinkle.

“We are always all hand on deck, but especially situations like this we will make sure everybody is available, put everybody on alert to know the storm is coming, and we always have to wait and see what mother nature pulls out whatever tricks she’s got this time,” said Director of Communications for Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, Rob Roedel.

Homeowners like David Lewis have already started the prep work.

“To charge up all of my electronic devices, my iPad, my phone, I’ve got a battery in the garage that’s a backup for those things,” said Lewis.

On top of prepping his spickets, generators, and making sure he has plenty of flashlights.

Both power companies gave some tips if the lights do go out.

“Just be patient and understand our crews are out working and our support staff, they would rather be at home with their families then out working power outages so they are going to work as quickly and safely to get your power back on,” stated Roedel.

“We want you to unplug major appliances or turn them off at the breaker so that when power does come back on, we are not powering up everyone’s large devices all at once, that would cause additional issues to the system,” stated Hinkle.

For updates on power outages you can visit both companies website and you can also receive text alerts from Entergy if you would like to sign up.