Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

ALBANY, GA -- We've seen some pretty strong storms so far this summer, and some any are likely to cut power to your home.

It's summer time, and your mind probably isn't on protecting your computers, tv's and other electronics, but when it comes to summer, you can count on storms.

“It does seem like we're transitioning into a more active thunderstorm-type pattern and with hurricane season in full swing, we may see some pretty good storms,” said Meteorologist Mike Morrison.

And if you think you live in an area that's immune from blackouts, think again. Albany and surrounding areas are chock full of trees.

“A lot of those trees are pine trees and pine is very soft, as we all know, so anytime we have the least little rain storm, especially in the summer, our limbs fall on our lines and they tend to knock out the power,” said Lori Farkas of Water, Gas and Light.

A lot of people go to the store and buy a power strip--confusing it for a power surge, when in reality, it just divides the power to other devices and doesn't provide any protection at all.

“You have something that's spinning at 7200 rpm's and then it comes to a screeching halt, you can end up losing your pictures, your data, the computer will run a lot slower,” said Tim Conlon with The Computer Nerd.

Make sure you're buying a surge protector and not just a power strip. Another tool is a UPS--uninterrupted power supply--for about $60. But they say it's well worth the investment.

“You get the power outage and your computer still runs, it's not cutting off, so you're in essence protecting your hardware,” said Conlon.

They say don't forget your phone lines and your tv wires as well, or else you could be losing more than just precious data.