Winter storms and safety

Bob - December 20, 2020

https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/duringstorm/indoorsafety.html

Most appropriately timed; saw this article at CDC’s site.

Material actually from a speciality agency of National Center For Environmental Health.

One point in link I ask you to review. At “Conserve heat” … “Stuff towels or rags in crack under doors” … Consider modifying this by adding, for example, some fluorescent para cord  attached to the stuffed towel/rag and draping the cord over the door handle. In case of power failure or tree branch drops into this portion of dwelling, no need to do bending to remove towel/rags that also can become a door wedge. 

Always consider you might have to vacate premises ASAP or even faster.  Safety must govern.

Had thought hair dryers were for the frozen truck doors………

 

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I’ve always enjoyed the winter season because I am able to utilize my preps more often than I usually do in the warmer months. 

Needing to bring winter clothes, shovel, snow brush, and other gear out to my car. Dressing in warmer clothes and getting out early in the morning to remove snow, I actually enjoy having to prep a bit each day in order to get around.

Being able to conserve heat is an important skill. Opening blinds during the day to let in sunlight, and closing them in the afternoon to keep that heat in is another tip.

 

Good point to max out use of sunlight for dwelling warmth.  I get casual to sloppy and forget to do this. 

Aforesaid bad habit changing today with sunrise.

 

Have you remembered to max out your use of sunlight the past two days? Did you see any change in your house’s temperature?

 

Yes and yes !

 

Living in the south the heat is usually more to deal with than the winters.  I just added a porch on the eastern end of my house to help reflect the summer heat.  I used white metal roofing to reflect and the shade under it really helps keep the place cooler.  Of course right now I’m missing that extra heat build up.  It’s rare for us to have these low temps.  Was 22 degrees this morning with feels like 12.  It never got above freezing all day today.  I never understood why people live up north…..

 

https://www.weather.gov/safety/winter

Good morning on this Merry Christmas morning … no trees banging into house walls or dropping on roof … definitely merry, happy and super news re last nights winter wind storm.

Above is some more winter weather safety information.

 

We got just enough to be able to say we got a white Christmas here in Georgia.  Pretty rare to have snow this early in the season.  It wasn’t much but was beautiful.  Pretty nasty with the mid 20’s temps though and windy.  I usually prep for the heat more than the cold this far south.  No doubt you don’t want to get stranded on the side of the road in these temps without some needed gear to keep you warm and comfortable.

 

What do you carry with you in your car during this time of year? Since snow and cold weather is rare, do you have some winter gear in your car?

[EDIT: message meant for Dog lover]

 

Dragoon, not sure if question posed only to Dog lover or to overall forum participants.

Would like to mention carrying an orange vest with some fluorescent stripes on it. In case of that unexpected winter emergency and on the side of the road … the horror stories are numerous.

 

Sorry about that, yes that message was meant for Dog lover. I am curious what people in warmer climates do for their car preps during the winter. I have family in northern states where there are vast differences between summer and winter and they have totally different car preps for each season.

Great idea about the orange vest Bob! The other day I was driving in the snow and saw a car pulled over with it’s hazard lights on. It still was barely visible though. Made me want to get some good flares, lights, and other flashy things for my car kit. Something like this is a mix of an orange reflective vest, but also has built in LED lights for even more visibility!

 

I’m in north Mississippi, and I don’t really do anything different in the winter.  I have a get home bag that is well stocked plus I keep lots of extra preps in my truck.  I always wear hiking boots and always dress extra warm, in case I were to get stranded… but also because I’m an old fart.  All my water, in my get home bag plus in my truck has been drained down so as not to bust if frozen.  I keep an extra water proof jacket in the door of my truck.

When I was stationed in North Dakota, the base instructed us to keep a winter emergency kit in the car.  Funny thing is, now my truck is much better stocked to handle getting stuck out in the winter than our car was back then… and our lows rarely get in the teens as opposed to 60 below up there.

Like Dog lover, I am more concerned with the heat than the cold, but that doesn’t mean I’m not prepared to spend a few days out in our cold.

 

That’s a real good illum vest, Dragoon.  Plus, it’s well priced.

You’ve got an interesting screen name.  I appreciate the term’s background.

 

I do have warm clothes, blanket, and water in the cars.  Mostly I carry a better hydraulic jack, some tools, first aid kit, and fire extinguisher, rain gear, phone chargers etc.  Every vehicle has a handgun and some ammo too.  The vans all have the emergency reflective triangle but also have traffic cones too since they have more room.  We have three work vans that have loads of room but it’s a little more challenging to fit stuff in a personal vehicle.

 

You keep a handgun and ammo in each vehicle? How do you hide it? 

I have a friend that works at a police department for a moderately big city and he says that cars are stolen all the time, and every so  often there is a gun inside that the owner had left in there. Are you worried about a criminal either taking your car and gun or at least breaking in and taking your gun?

 

I just carry in the glove box on the console.  If I ever get pulled over I would make it clear to the cop that I’m a vet, have a concealed carry and there is a gun in the glove that is strictly for self defense before I ever opened it.  I have high point 9mm’s in the work trucks due to their low cost and they are really durable.  If one gets scraped, wet or whatever it isn’t too big of a worry to me.  As far as anyone stealing the vehicle, well yes that is a chance.  I’m good about keeping them locked but I’m not always the driver, so there is a risk of a criminal getting one.  I still feel better knowing I have a handgun nearby if ever needed.