The word “blizzard” means different things in different parts of the country. What someone in Atlanta calls a blizzard may just be another tuesday to someone in New York.
Regardless of how severe it has to be for you to call it a blizzard, the basic premise is the same. A severe snowstorm that makes travel dangerous and knocks out essential services. Also no matter where you live, the basic rules to survive are the same.
- Stay Home
Even if your power goes out, it is much easier to stay warm in your house with blankets, insulation, and a probable alternate heat source than it is on the side of the road in your car.
Winter weather changes quickly. A light dusting of snow can quickly turn into enough snow to shut down roads, making them completely impassable. If the weather is bad enough that local authorities are concerned about roads, don’t leave the house unless absolutely necessary.
- Emergency Heat
Unless you have radiant gas heat, some part of your heating system is probably electric. This means that even your gas furnace may have an electric blower or thermostat.
Blizzards can cause tree limbs to break, knocking power out for days or even weeks, especially if you get a storm that is exceptional for your area. You should have an alternative heat source available for these situations. This could be anything from a home fireplace, to a small propane heater, to a wall mounted natural gas heater.
In the same category is a cooking heat source. You can live on emergency bars, but being homebound is more pleasant if you can actually cook a meal.
Whatever your emergency heat, make sure you have fuel for it. A propane heater with no propane is a paperweight.
- Flashlights
Along the same lines as the last issue, you should always have flashlights on hand for power outages. In case you are stuck for several days, you should also have plenty of battery back up or solar charging capacity available.
Flashlights are handy for navigating your house in the dark, but can also help you keep your spirits up by reading and staying entertained when your device batteries need to be reserved for emergencies.
- Vehicle Needs
If you end up stuck at home for a long period of time, you may have to use your vehicle. You might have to brave the roads for food after several days, or you might just need to crank it up to charge cell phones.
Regardless of why you need your vehicle, you need to make sure it is ready to be used. If you live in an area with regular winter weather, have chains or snow tires ready to go.
If you live anywhere that blizzard concerns arise, you need to do certain things to winterize your car. Make sure you have the right ratio of antifreeze to water in your radiator. Too much water can freeze solid, making it completely ineffective at protecting your engine from heat damage.
Make sure your gas tank is always half full. This is helpful in case you end up stuck and need to run your engine for charging purposes, but also because very low fuel tanks can get frozen condensation which can keep them from cranking.
- Food and Water
Pipes can freeze in extreme weather, leaving you with no water. Insulate them to avoid this, but you should also have back ups on hand.
In a true emergency situation, you could boil melt snow, but that assumes you have unlimited cooking fuel, otherwise, this is pretty wasteful of a limited resource. Much better to have some on hand.
Emergency food should be shelf stable, and ready to eat. If you do lose power, you won’t have refrigeration either.
In summary, staying safe in a blizzard is not that tough. Have a few basic supplies, perhaps from a prefabricated emergency kit, paired with a fully gassed car and some good decision making, and you will do just fine.
