How To Be Prepared For a Snowstorm In Under One Hour

12/10/2019 (Permalink)

If You're Prepared, It's a Walk in the Park

Snowstorms come in fast and can keep you grounded in your home for a few days. A common issue we hear locally within the Parkersburg, WV and surrounding areas is that people are not prepared.

Luckily being prepared isn’t as hard as people think. Plus it can be as fast as one hour to set up your small survival kit. Keep in mind though, that the best practice is to have all these preparations done well before a snowstorm is even a thought. So follow these steps, invest in one hour of your day today or tomorrow and go and prepare for the “what if” this winter.

What You Can Do Now - Build an Emergency Kit

Head to your local Sams Club or Kroger and grab all of the following:

1. Cell phone and portable charger. Portable chargers are extremely useful when the power is out.
2. Flashlights with extra batteries. Try and avoid using candles. While they are romantic and set a beautiful mood, it increase the likelihood of a fire. Now although the fire will not expand beyond the home, we’d rather you have no smoke or fire damage in the home.
3. Water and snack food This is much cheaper than you think. You can get 40 x 16 fl oz. for only $5 and this will be enough for the family for a few days. Snack ideas include canned beans, chips, dried fruit, canned fruit and or nuts. Keep in mind that you want items that do not need to be cooked, because the electricity may be out.
4. Pet food. Don’t forget your little ones! It’s very common.
5. First aid kit with any necessary medications and a pocket knife. Keep it simple. This might already be in your bathroom, but be sure to have some bandaids, gauze and disinfectant.
6. A bucket to flush the toilet. Old school trick. Fill the bathtub with water. The flush may not work in a snowstorm. For this reason you will need to fill your bucket and throw it at the toilet water to start it flushing.
7. Fire wood. Keeping warm is important. And a nice, family fire in the living room could be a nice way to interact.
8. Waterproof matches and a can to melt snow for water (if want to feel like Rambo). This is a little over the top, but we heard this from someone. If you do this, send us a video. We want to see it!

Have the Car Prepared

If you plan on driving during the snowstorm or blizzard first check all local weather warnings. But if you do, make sure to have all these items at your ready:

1. Full tank of gas - for the generator of vehicle
2. Windshield scraper
3. Tow chains or rope
4. Tire chains
5. Canned compressed air with sealant for emergency tire repair
6. Cat litter or sand to help tires get traction, or road salt to melt ice
7. Booster cables with fully charged battery or jumper cables
8. Road maps
9. Shovel

We hope this helps. But more importantly, we hope that there isn’t a snowstorm this winter!

From the team at SERVPRO of Wood, Ritchie & Pleasants Counties.