Blizzard Preparedness

Blizzards have been called hurricanes of the north, and if you live in the northern states, you know that blizzard preparedness is a serious thing. Preparing for a blizzard is difficult because high winds, subzero temperatures, blowing snow, frozen locks, and zero visibility are just part of what your blizzard prep must take into account. If you know that a blizzard is coming, you’ll need to prepare yourself, your home and your vehicle for what the next few days may have in store. Here’s a list of things that you’ll need to do before the storm hits.

Blizzard Prep

Blizzards are becoming more dangerous.  This means that everyone should be more prepared than ever for winter’s wrath. Below is a list of emergency supplies that everyone should begin to stockpile in late September, along with a list of maintenance duties. Listed below is the information you’ll need to blizzard prep.

Gather your supplies

  • 5-day supply of non-perishable emergency food
  • 5-day supply of fresh drinking water (at least ½ gallon per person / day)
  • Battery operated or hand-crank radio
  • LED flashlights
  • Stock up on gasoline
  • Stock up on firewood

Prepare your home

  • Maintenance your furnace
  • Buy extra fuses for your furnace
  • Buy emergency candles, matches and disposable lighters
  • Make sure your chimney is clear from debris
  • Stack your firewood and kindling
  • Insulate your pipes
  • Inspect and replace caulking / weatherstripping
  • Add plastic sheeting to windows
  • Tune up your snowblowers / snowplows
  • Maintenance your generators
  • Check your smoke detectors
  • Check your carbon monoxide detectors
  • Check your sump pump

Prepare you car

  • Fill your gas tank before the storm hits and add dry gas
  • Pack remote mobile phone chargers
  • Pack extra hats, coats, mittens, and blankets
  • Pack a windshield scraper
  • Pack a collapsible snow shovel
  • Pack a battery operated or hand-crank radio
  • Pack an LED Flashlight
  • Pack water and snack food
  • Pack a first aid kit
  • Pack 5 days of prescriptions medications
  • Pack a Swiss army knife or a multi-tool
  • Pack tow chains or ropes
  • Pack fix a flat
  • Pack kitty litter, sand, salt, or ice melt
  • Pack jumper cables
  • Pack flares, or hazard lights

Blizzards are not just big snowstorms. A blizzard is a snowstorm on steroids. Blizzards, especially lake effect snowstorms, have been known to drop several feet of snow across several counties in a matter of hours. The heavy / blowing snow often exceeds 40 mile and hour gusts leading to white-out situations making it impossible to drive and may disorient people trying to walk outside as they may be unable to see buildings and trees that they rely on to find their way. Blizzards can last several hours, or several days depending on the storm, and the resulting cleanup effort can be immense. To make things worse, several reports have indicated that the number of blizzards over the last decade have doubled. That means the time to start preparing for the next blizzard is now!