Winter storm preparedness
A bad winter storm is really three problems at once: extreme cold, a power outage, and being stuck home for days. The real dangers are heat and water, not the snow itself. Here is how to be ready.
Heat without power
- Have warm layers, blankets, and a cold-rated sleeping bag for everyone.
- Close off one room and keep everyone in it to hold heat.
- Never run a generator, grill, or camp stove indoors, and never use the oven for heat. Carbon monoxide is the leading killer in winter outages. A generator goes outside, far from windows.
Water and frozen pipes
- Store drinking water, since a freeze can knock out your supply.
- Let faucets drip in a hard freeze, and know where your water shutoff is in case a pipe bursts.
- Snow can be melted for washing if needed, but treat or filter it before drinking.
Food, light, and power
- Two weeks of no-cook food, plus a manual can opener and a way to cook without power.
- Flashlights, spare batteries, charged power banks, and a battery or hand-crank radio.
- First aid and extra days of any medications.
A winter car kit
Many winter emergencies happen on the road. Keep a kit in the car: blankets, water and snacks, a flashlight, a small shovel, sand or cat litter for traction, an ice scraper, and a charged phone. Keep the gas tank at least half full. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle, it is shelter and far easier to find than a person on foot.
Keep it ready
Cold-weather supplies sit idle most of the year, so batteries die and food and medications lapse. Check and rotate them before winter, so the heat source, water, and food are ready before the first freeze, not discovered dead during it.
Quick checklist
- Safe backup warmth, never an indoor flame or generator.
- Stored water, plus a plan for frozen or burst pipes.
- Two weeks of no-cook food and a manual can opener.
- Light, power banks, radio, first aid, and medications.
- A stocked car kit and a half-full tank. Rotate before winter.