If a storm was bad enough to knock out power for two weeks, rooftop solar panels would be damaged too. The old adage of topping off the gas tank before a storm is still the best prep.
Gonna give you a “no” on damage to solar panels. (We have them)
Depending on how they are mounted they have varying wind load ratings and PROPERLY mounted can remain intact during high and/or prolonged winds. You get a specific hurricane rating upon installation (from a qualified company) you can provide to your insurance company. Our panels have a higher rating than our shingles 😉. We live in N GA in the foothills of the Appalachians, so tropical winds are RARE, but we DO get very strong straight line winds with winter fronts and some thunderstorms.
We’ve never had a storm-related panel failure or even damage.
Of course wind driven debris can damage anything. Wind alone can be handled nicely by solar panels. And no they don’t work, at all, when covered by 6” of snow. They DO require the sunshine after all. That’s where the battery is key.
Our solar + battery system has been a great backup to grid power during storm outages.
That’s true but this storm was not expected to have this result. It was a fluke of nature.