The Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday will begin Friday.

It’s the fifth year for the holiday, which allows shoppers to purchase items related to severe weather preparedness without paying state sales tax. Local sales tax may apply.

According to the Alabama Department of Revenue, Butler County, Greenville and Georgiana have agreed to waive their portions of sales tax.

The covered items must cost $60 or less, except for generators, which are covered as long as they cost $1,000 or less.

Items covered by the sales tax holiday include: several types of batteries, including cell phone batteries and chargers, battery-powered radios, flashlights, lanterns, emergency glow sticks, first-aid kits, fuel containers and more.

The sales tax holiday was a key recommendation of Gov. Robert Bentley’s Tornado Recovery Action Council, which was appointed following the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak.

“Being prepared is the first step to a quick response to a natural disaster,” Bentley said in a press release.  “If people have the emergency supplies they need, that will go a long way toward helping them weather any storm.”

For a complete list of items, visit the Alabama Department of Revenue’s website at http://revenue.alabama.gov/salestax

The holiday will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday and end at midnight on Sunday.