When it comes to storm preparation, there are three basic kinds
of people –
The Clueless,
The Skeptics and Naysayers, and
The Prepared. As for the first category, I have no idea how
you can arrive at a storm of this proportion and not know it’s coming. Every TV
and radio station, every newspaper headline, every passerby on the street, and
even the vibrations in the air scream “STORM IS ON THE WAY.” I really do wonder
about The Clueless – how could they possibly arrive at the grocery store, see
the welcoming line-up of shovels at the entrance, the throngs of people, the
empty shelves, and not know what’s happening? Or maybe they just don’t go out.
Perhaps they’re on a 72-hour jag of video gaming and haven’t come up for a breath.
That’s really the only way I can imagine someone being so utterly out of tune
with everything around them.
As for The Skeptics and Naysayers, these are the folks who
counter every comment about an impending, possibly history-making storm with
some variation of “yeah, right.” They’ve heard it before, the snow totals never
amount to what is forecast, and it will all blow over before very long and won’t
we - The Prepared - look silly. Aside from the fact that I will never look as
silly as someone who hasn’t prepared when The Big One descends, Skeptics and
Naysayers are also killjoys. There, I said it. They conflate preparation with
fear and consider all weather events to be ho-hum, besides-the-point occurrences.
Needless to say, I don’t get this attitude either. And, if I’m honest, when I’m
not annoyed at The Skeptics and Naysayers, I feel a little sorry for them – how
can one experience the power of nature via the extreme storm and not (at least
sometimes) be completely awestruck.
And that brings us to The Prepared. I could wax on about us,
but there’s not much time left to get everything in order, so chatting now is
just a waste of time. In fact, Jim
Cantore from The Weather Channel (the automated version of Jim, that is) just called
twice to let me know there’s now a Winter Storm Warning in effect for our area through
1 pm Saturday (it’s not a “Watch” anymore).
Are you ready? If you haven’t already checked your list, now’s the
time.
SURVIVAL ITEMS
·
Shovel.
We have a few shovels in our home, one situated by the front door and one by
the back door, just in case we need to dig ourselves out. It’s no good to have your
shovel in your car if you’re going to need it to get to your car.
·
Salt/sand.
Essential if conditions turn icy.
·
Flashlights
and batteries. Candles are okay, but may prove dangerously flammable.
If you have a battery-powered lantern as well as flashlights, even better.
·
Self-powered
or battery operated radio (with plenty of batteries if it’s not
self-powered).
·
Food.
Have enough non-perishable food to get you through a few days, though perishable
food can be kept outside in a cooler as long as the temps stay below or near
freezing. I just picked up whitefish salad and French bread from the Black
Sheep Deli, because, really, what else do you need during a snowstorm? (Don’t worry, we have lots of canned stuff
beyond that, of course).
·
Water.
Have plenty of water on hand. Most authorities
suggest keeping at least a 3-day supply of water on hand for emergencies, and
the common definition of a 3-day supply is 3 gallons per person: half to drink
and half to use for cooking and sanitation. You can supplement your “non-drinkable”
water supply by filling the bathtub with water. And, of course, you can always put
snow in a bucket and bring it inside to melt before using for non-drinking
purposes. Do not drink melted snow water - snow absorbs contaminants from air pollution and from
the ground and there may even be unhealthy levels of bacteria in snow, which
can be activated when the snow is brought above freezing temperature.
·
Hand-Operated
Can Opener. Remember, your electricity may go out, and the electric can
opener would be rendered inoperable in that situation.
·
Blankets
and warm clothing (and during the 2011 Halloween storm we found that winter hats, gloves, and hand and foot warmers were also
essential).
·
Sterno
& Sterno holder/frame that you can cook on top of (it is designed
to support the weight of a frying pan or pot). Unlike a propane or charcoal grill
or camping stove, all of which must be
used outside, Sterno can be used inside and it works well enough to heat
water, soup from a can, and other prepared foods. If you feel like cooking,
there are plenty of things that can be cooked over Sterno, too. It may take a while, but you weren’t going
anywhere were you? Of course, if you have a fireplace, you can cook food on that,
too.
·
Matches to
light your Sterno, candles, fireplace.
·
Prescription
medications at least to get you through a few days
·
Cellphone
with a cord, or a portable cellphone charger or a hard wired home phone.
Cordless home phones will not work when the power is out.
·
Other
necessities like diapers, pet food, etc.
TO DO LIST (BEFORE THE STORM)
·
Clear
rain gutters and repair roof leaks (hopefully you’ve already taken care
of this)
·
Cut
away tree branches that could fall on a house or other structure during a storm
(again, at this point you’ll just have to hope for the best if you haven’t
attended to this already).
·
Catch
up on laundry and wash dishes (just in case power goes out and you lose
hot water)
·
Keep
tabs on your family members. Make sure you know where everyone in your
family is and that they have proper shelter before the storm hits.
·
Charge all your electronics ahead of time
(cell phones, iPods, laptops, etc.)
·
Keep
Warm. When the storm hits, already have a fire or furnace running to
keep you warm if this is feasible. Keep blankets ready, drink hot liquids, and
eat hot foods.
·
Have entertainment ready, such as books, board games,
cards, crafts, etc. Some families have so much fun during forced power outages that they end up instituting a regular “voluntary
power outage” after the storm is long done.
