Severe winter weather can be unpredictable. Sometimes only a few degrees is the difference between a blizzard and freezing rain. As winter approaches, it is important to prepare your home for severe snow and other severe winter weather. Follow these steps to learn how to prepare for a snow storm.

Have the basics on hand before the threat of a snow storm:

·      Shovel

·      Flashlights

·      Food

·      Can Opener

·      Blankets and warm clothing

·      A camping stove or barbeque grill

·      Matches

·      A battery operated radio

·      Prescription medications

·      A wall phone with a cord, or a portable cell phone charger

·      Any other household necessities, such as diapers, formula, batteries, etc.

Winterize your home and any other buildings you or your family will use during a storm.

·      Insulate walls and attics, caulk and weather-strip doors and windows, and install storm windows or cover windows with plastic.

·      Clear rain gutters and repair roof leaks in order to avoid clogging and flooding.

·      Place salt on your sidewalk and driveway. This will make them easier to shovel after the storm.

·      Cut away tree branches that could fall on a house or other structure during a storm.

·      If necessary hire a contractor to check the structural strength of the roof. Make sure your roof can withstand the unusually heavy weight of snow or water.

·      Insulate pipes with insulations and allow faucets to drip a little during cold weather to avoid freezing.

Anticipate a long power outage.

Decide what to do with the food in your freezer and refrigerator.

·      If the power will not be out for long leave the doors closed, keeping the air inside, and your food will most likely be fine.

·      If it seems like the power will be out for one or more days move the food. With the winter weather, there will be plenty of cold to store your food. Frozen items can be left outside (keep an eye on the temperature) and refrigerated items left in an enclosed porch or other cold area.

·      Eat perishable foods first, keeping canned goods for more lengthy outages.

Keep tabs on your family members.

·      May sure you know where everyone in your family is and that they have proper shelter before the storm hits.

Stay aware of approaching storms.

·      Watch weather reports, listen to emergency radios, and pay attention to the warnings at the top of your TV screen warning you about storms.

Keep warm

·      Already have a fire or furnace running before the storm hits. Keep blankets on hand. Drink hot liquids and eat hot foods to stay warm.

Have entertainment on hand

·      Make sure you can stay entertained in the event of a power outage.  Keep entertainment such as books, board games, cards, crafts, and other electric-free entertainment in the house.

If you end up getting snowed in during a big storm, use TalkLocal to connect you to a highly rated, local snow removal company. Simply enter a brief description of your service needs along with your location and availability, and TalkLocal will do the rest.

This entry was updated on Monday, June 8th, 2015 at 12:32 pm. This entry was originally posted on Thursday, August 9th, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Snow Removal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.