We each recall our excitement when, as children, snow was predicted and the thought of school closings made us giddy. We anxiously waited for the next morning to take a look out of our bedroom windows to confirm that we’d be sledding, skiing, making snow forts and having snowball battles instead of taking that dreaded science test.
As adults, we may have a different perspective as we think about hazardous travel, flight cancellations, damaging winds, frozen pipes, shoveling snow and power outages.
Blizzards, nor’easters or bomb cyclones, whatever the name designation, these storms can be killers. Before we get into the “Snow Emergency Tips”, let’s define the difference between a blizzard, a nor’easter and a cyclone bomb.
As you’ll see the definitions can overlap. All are considered “snowstorms”. All can be dangerous, especially for the unprepared.
BLIZZARD: The National Weather Service defines a blizzard as a storm which contains large amounts of snow OR blowing snow, with winds in excess of 35 mph and visibilities of less than 1/4 mile for an extended period of time (at least 3 hours).
NOR’EASTER: A Nor’easter is a storm along the East Coast of North America, so called because the winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast. These storms may occur at any time of year but are most frequent and most violent between September and April.
BOMB CYCLONE: A bomb cyclone, or more specifically just a “bomb” in terms of weather, is a “rapid intensification of a cyclone with surface pressure expected to fall by at least 24 millibars in 24 [hours],” per the National Weather Service. When the pressure drops this quickly as measured in millibars, it is considered a bomb.
When a storm is a bomb, it doesn’t necessarily mean heavy snow will result inland. But it does create high winds near the center of the storm which is far offshore. The winds there are so high that hurricane-force winds are expected. If the storm is massive in terms of area covered not all of the areas may have the fierce winds.
If the area where you live has an approaching snowstorm in any of its forms, the local news and weather are probably keeping everyone informed of the timeline and even adding suggestions as to how to avoid or prepare for the hazards that come with severe weather events. These should be taken seriously. Let’s look at eight things to consider before severe weather arrives.
1. Traveling in a blizzard is just not a good idea
If you are on the road during a blizzard look for a hotel or motel nearby and stay off the road until driving conditions are safe again. Don’t get yourself in this situation! During a snowstorm, here in Maryland, I have been stranded for five days and six nights at the hospital where I worked.
We had to take care of patients with only the nurses and doctors who became stranded there as well. Relief personnel could not get to us. No food trucks could get in. We made do with what we had and somehow we made it through. Fortunately we never lost power so we didn’t have to use backup generators.
After that experience the hospital decided to make extended emergency arrangements in case of a repeat five foot snowstorm!
The Red Cross has some emergency equipment including basic emergency and basic first aid kits that are easy to throw into the back of your car for cold or inclement weather conditions.
But you might want to expand and customize it to fit your specific requirements, or create your own entirely to include items for a broader scope of emergencies.https://www.redcrossstore.org/During the winter months, keeping emergency food and blankets inside your car could be a lifesaver.
2. Power Outages and Road Detours
When the power goes out:
- Call in your power outage to make sure the electric company is aware of your location. Look for the emergency phone number on your electric bill.
- Stay away from downed power lines and do not walk through water or snow where a line is down.
- Turn off furnaces, fans and lights; unplug computers, televisions and small appliances. Leave one light on so that you know when power is restored.
- Factors affecting how long food will stay frozen if you leave the freezer door shut:
- Amount of food in the freezer. Food in a full freezer will stay frozen twice as long as food in a freezer that is only half full. Keeping containers of ice in a partially filled freezer will help keep other foods in the freezer frozen longer.
- Kind of food. A freezer full of meat will not warm up as fast as a freezer full of baked goods.
- Temperature in the freezer before it stopped. The colder the food, the longer it will stay frozen.
- Amount of freezer insulation. A well-insulated freezer will keep food frozen much longer than one with little insulation.
- Size of the freezer. The larger the freezer, the longer the food will stay frozen, particularly if the freezer is full. (REF. Cheryl F. Driggs, Simply Prepared and Colorado State University Extension Service)
- Do not open the refrigerator or freezer unless absolutely necessary.
It’s good to keep these stats in mind: If you keep refrigerator and freezer closed your contents will generally stay cold or frozen for the times listed below.
- A full chest freezer – 3 to 4 days.
- An upright freezer – 2 to 3 days.
- A refrigerator freezer – 1 to 2 days.
- A closed refrigerator – 4 to 6 hours – longer if you put ice in the refrigerator and that’s easy to do with all of that snow!
We have been known to put a large summer cooler deep in a snow drift filled with various foods and covered inside with snow. So far we have not had problems with critters raiding our grub.
If your freezer is half full, food will remain frozen for half the time it will if the freezer is full. If you have a generator, run the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes every 4 to 5 hours to maintain temperatures below 40 degrees F. Run the freezer for 30-60 minutes twice a day to keep food frozen.
Use open flames carefully and safely for heating, cooking and light. Avoid letting children use open flames such as candles. The Fire Department may not be able to easily respond to a fire during any kind of large snow event.
Child-safe equipment includes battery powered flashlights, hand crank flashlights, light sticks and solar lights.
Safe indoor cooking:
- Canned heat stove (such as Sterno)
- Portable butane stove
- Wood burning fireplace
- Wood burning stove
Do not use charcoal, gas grills or camp stoves indoors.
Safe indoor heating:
- Fireplace
- Wood burning stove
- Indoor propane space heater
- Indoor kerosene space heater
Conserve heat by blocking or covering leaky doors and windows and closing doors to rooms that do not need to be used. Use sunlight for passive solar heating during the day. Dress in layers. Centralize activities to one or two rooms. You can use quilts, blankets or tarps to isolate these rooms. Stay warm at night by sharing beds or sleeping bags or by sleeping in a pop-up tent inside the house.
One of my very best memories of childhood is the blizzard when power was out for 5 days and the whole family slept in the living room, cooked in the fireplace hobo meals, popcorn, scrambled eggs, foil wrapped potatoes made pallets on the floor for the kids while daddy slept in a chair near the fire, for safety reasons, and mother slept on the sofa.
At night we sang and told stories while the firelight flickered on the ceiling. The difference in temperature between our cozy living room and the freezing dining room on the other side of the quilts was startling.
- Priorities: The electric companies have priorities set for restoring electrical service. The first priority is to facilities important to safety, health and public welfare such as hospitals, water treatment plants, fire stations and other public service facilities. Next, are those power grids that will restore power to the largest number of customers in the shortest amount of time. The more people affected by an outage, the greater the likelihood of getting power restored relatively quickly.
- Trackers: Some utility companies across the country have an outage tracker that reports the number of customers affected by an outage and gives the estimated restoration time for each outage. You can inquire to your local power company to see if they offer that service. Having a general idea of when power will return will help you in making choices for your family’s safety and comfort.
Arctic temperatures, icy winds and heavy wet snows are a perfect recipe to create downed power lines and road blocking debris, causing power outages.
Do we have everything we need to face this kind of emergency, including clean drinking water, alternative heat, battery-powered light sources, matches or lighters, flashlights, a battery-operated radio to keep track of the storm and any directives that may come through the EBS (Emergency Broadcasting System ) emergency food supplies and extra blankets for every family member?
Think about where you’ll put candles to keep them safe. To reduce risk of fire, whenever possible, use battery-powered emergency lights. Have plenty of food staples that need no cooking but also alternative cooking sources if possible. If your water supply depends on an electric pump, as most supplies do, bottled water may be a good idea. Do you have emergency medical supplies and needed medications?
Blizzards can slow emergency vehicles and disrupt city and county services. So make sure to have fire extinguishers placed strategically in your home and that everyone there knows where they are located and how to use them. Trash services may be halted until trucks can access your area so have plenty of heavy duty trash bags and trash cans on hand.
If you keep your trash can in an outbuilding or other place away from your house you may want to consider bringing it closer to your backdoor before the storm begins, for easier access.
If you have alternative heating sources, such as fireplaces, wood or coal burning stoves, or space heaters, make sure they are clean and in safe working order.
Dangerous Whiteouts
Snow can be so heavy during a blizzard that it causes whiteouts. Once the precipitation has started consider it too late to run to the store to pick up anything. After all, the term “prepper” presupposes we have thought these possibilities through and have actually prepared ourselves.
Even if we hear a heavy snow is on its way it may be too late to stock up. But those reading this article have everything they need already, right? We don’t want to see this sight below when we enter our local grocery market.
We all know that empty shelves can happen quickly when a storm is predicted. Even if we are still working on getting our year’s supply of food storage, we need to make sure to have enough for our family, and ways to prepare it, to last for 3 months.
We all need to make that a priority in 2018 Snowstorms are relatively short-lived compared to other emergency events which could be longer-lasting and more severe in their consequences, like epidemics, terrorist attacks, quarantines, natural disasters, monetary collapse bringing on rising global food prices, war etc. We can move on our prep goals as our finances allow. The important thing is to keep moving….keep prepping.
