Did winter catch you unaware? Nope, not me, but this winter has brought to my attention just how unprepared so many people are to deal with winter storms that can bring ice, snow, power outages, traffic jams, kids out of school for days on end. Can anyone say Atlanta and what happened at the end of January? Up here in Virginia we received storm after storm and down at Virginia Beach they got caught with the unusual, if not quite unheard of 10 inches of snow.
Roads were slick, icy, snow packed. Can’t tell you how many tracks I saw going off the side of the road into to trees. But I am digressing here. We all know what winter can bring and what can happen IF you aren’t prepared or caught unaware.
Here are some of my own winter storm survival ‘rules’ that I have learned over the years and have kept me and mine safe and sound.
First and foremost though, be AWARE of the potential weather in and around your area.
Rule #1: If you can, stay home or shelter in place. Seems simple yeah? But how many of you go to work or just have to do one last thing at the split moment the storm is coming in or just getting going. Now I will admit I break this rule on occassion, but that brings me to…
Rule #2: Don’t drive if you can’t drive…what are your limits and capabilities in snow? Your experience? Your vehicle? I have driven a LOT of miles in bad road conditions over the years because of a job I had. It only took ONE TIME for me to ditch my car to learn that slow as you go and no sharp steering or breaking is KING if you have to drive in snow and/or ice. Oh and by the way…just because you have a truck or SUV with 4 wheel drive does NOT mean you get to drive fast or suddenly can defy the laws of physics regarding ice 🙂
Rule #3: Keep some sort of emergency bag with food, water, light and more clothes or a blanket in your vehical. You get stuck out on the road or find yourself having to shelter in place you’ll be ahead of the game.
Rule #4: Always let someone know when you are leaving and the route you will be taking. This rule also includes…keeping in touch! Keep that cell phone battery charged. Check to make sure you can charge it in your vehical or some otherway. Test your charging cords…they do go bad.
Now for some rules at home:
Rule #1: if you don’t have to leave…stay home, yep, there’s that rule again, but its worth repeating…
Rule #2: Always keep extra food IN THE HOUSE, that way you get to avoid the phenomenon known as…’oh my god, its going to snow, time to get bread, milk and toliet paper!’ you know, that bum rush to the store.
Rule #3: Have a way to stay warm if the power goes out…extra blankets, a wood stove, propane heaters. This is a subject in and of itself, but have it.
Rule #4: Have a battery operated carbon monoxide detector in your house that WORKS.
Rule #5: If you do have to go outside, be sure to wear appropriate clothing for the conditions. I don’t care if its just to take the garbage out…you slip and fall, well, you will appreciate at least being warm until you can get help.
Rule #6: Don’t forget your animals…the family pet or farm animals require more food, unfrozen water, and more attention to their shelter or less time/exposure to the elements.
Lastly, and this isn’t so much a rule…keep sane, sleep in or something you have been putting off…work isn’t everything and sometimes its just nice to let winter be winter.
Stay safe!
survivingshtfmom 
The Must Haves For Winter Car Travel
Have to travel during a ‘wintry’ event in your car. So now what?
I have put together a quick list of what to have in your car to survive the unexpected. No one likes to think about being stuck in traffic grid lock, or having to shelter in place or forbid, having an accident in which help may not arrive any time soon. (Been there done that one, too bad I didn’t hit the deer!) But by having a few things available to you, you can be somewhat comfortable and warm…just in case your car becomes your home away from home for awhile during the winter:
PS…I would recommend keeping it somewhat in reach within the confines of the car, so you don’t have to get out to get it.
Winter survival kit for the car:
In the bag (not optional):
Extra gloves and a beanie hat
2 extra pairs of socks
At least one warm blanket
Emergency Mylar blankets (several)
External way of recharging cell phone
Water (at least 1 quart, metal bottle preferred, plastic can break)
Hand and foot warmers
Protein Bars or Other type of no need to cook food (jerky, dried fruit)
Flashlight (handcrank type)
Flares (you can buy the type that uses batteries)
Decent first aid kit (not the little one)
Good knife
Duct tape
Folding shovel
Waterproof Matches
Ice Scraper
Optional Items but Great to Have:
Snow Boots
Extra Clothing
Kitty Litter/Rock Salt
Small Wood Camping Stove (yes, a bit overboard but you never know) great way to melt snow for water.
Small handcrank radio
PMates (look them up)
A couple empty plastic water jugs
Additionally, you should always have your cell phone with you and keep in touch with family, and while I get GPS is a tracking device (which I don’t like) I would make sure its turned on just in case…they can track you via your gps coordinates of your cell phone.
Sprint has a great service called Family Locator and is cheap and easy to use…just requires that the cell phone be on.
Keep in mind that if you are traveling with children you will need MORE of the above items and it would be a great idea to pack in the car bag a few things for them to do to stay busy if you have to be in the car for an extended period of time.
EMT’s are trained to look on cell phones for ICE numbers. In Case of Emergency…get at least one listed on yours.
While I understand that many people have to wear work appropriate clothing, if you know a winter event is coming or could potentially happen, do yourself a favor and change clothes before leaving work to head home.
Make sure you have a full tank of gas before heading out or coming home.
Remember, you can run your car for 10 minutes at a time to warm up (once an hour) if you are stuck. The kicker here is that you really NEED to MAKE SURE YOUR TAIL PIPE IS NOT BLOCKED by snow or ice. If it is covered up or iced over guess what? Carbon Monoxide WILL get into the car and that is a potential life threatening situation.
IF you have to get out of your car, be extremely mindful of what is going on around you. Cars or trucks whizzing by can hit you, sliding of cars…you get the idea. Be AWARE.
Stay or leave the car? This is situational and you may have to make that choice if you are unable to move the car for whatever reason. On that note, years ago I swerved to miss a deer in the middle of the night on a very icy and snow packed road out in the middle of nowhere. I went to the right and guess what? A nice big drainage gully was there. I managed to get the car pointed down so I didn’t roll, but had to leave the car knowing that A) no one knew exactly where I was (cell phones at that time really stunk) and wouldn’t miss me until probably about 8 hours had passed. B) The car was so far down this gully that no one would see it C) it was 2 am in the morning on a Sunday so chances were no one would be driving anytime soon.
And would you believe that I was in area with homes scattered here and there and after knocking on a few doors (pounding actually) and no answer, I gave up and started walking back towards civilization. It was freezing cold and although I had appropriate cold weather gear on (including warm boots) as I walked towards a telephone I got colder and colder. There were a few other things that I found interesting too…a) although I was walking on a major roadway, not one person who passed me stopped to see if I was okay b) walking in the cold becomes a really hard job after about an hour (it took me 3 ½ hours to make it to a working telephone).
So that is my story on that…but the decision to stay or leave can become a life saving or life endangering one and is something to think about before hand.
If you DO happen to make the decision to leave your car…leave a note with your name, number, emergency contact and your hopeful destination…leave your car unlocked too. No sense in making anyone’s job harder and if you have to turn around back to the car for some reason and your hands are really cold, it will make it easier to get back into.
Just my thoughts on being prepared for a winters ride.