Now that really cold weather is approaching, it has occurred to me that a lot of people aren’t prepared for it. It’s not necessarily because they don’t know or they haven’t had time. It’s more likely a “ya I know it could happen but I’m doing other things” situation.
I can honestly tell you, from my upbringing in the mountains of Colorado to my military years in Nebraska and Wyoming, not being prepared to inclement weather is a risk to your life. We can sit at home, turn the thermostat up, and make ourselves believe we’re OK, but things can change without warning, and they often do. Let’s talk about common situations a lot of people aren’t prepared for:
It’s 10 below with 30 below wind chill. There’s 18 inches of snow on the ground and your road probably won’t be plowed for 24 hours or more. You’re nice an warm in your house, watching Netflix while the kids play video games. You have a little food in the refrigerator and the electric bill has been paid, so you’re in good shape, right?
Suddenly a Chevy slides off the road and hits a power pole a mile away and knocks out power to the whole neighborhood. Without power, your TV doesn’t work. Worse yet, your furnace doesn’t work! What are you going to do?
Preparation in advance can prevent serious problems later. With a cheap little generator and a little freely accessible knowledge, you can make enough power to run your generator, refrigerator, and a couple of lights…..enough to survive if you have to. It doesn’t cost a lot, but it could save your life.
Next scenario: You own a diesel vehicle. You filled up the tank before the cold snap, and it’s the middle of the night. Nobody is out on the roads, but you have to go check on Grandma. You left without a coat because the heater in your vehicle works really well. You’re out in the middle of nowhere when the engine dies as if it’s out of fuel. Now you have no motion, no way to stay warm. There’s no cell phone service where you are. The clock is ticking.
Again, preparation in advance could save your life. Packing a winter survival kit is cheap and easy and doesn’t take up a lot of space in your vehicle. One thing few people who own diesels think of, is Diesel 911 (or similar). When diesel gets cold it turns to gelatin and becomes so thick a fuel pump can’t pump it. It can happen going down the road, even with a newer vehicle. Worse yet, some gas stations will wait until absolutely necessary to buy “winter blend” fuel, which has anti-gel additives. If you had Diesel 911 in your vehicle, you could pour some in your fuel tank, wait 5-10 minutes, start your vehicle, and keep driving. I’ve done it and it works great….potentially life-saving!
However continuously using Diesel 911 or similar additives could do damage to your engine. Use in case of emergency ONLY.
3rd scenario: You’re driving to check on Grandma. You round a curve and slide off the road, landing in the trees where nobody can see you from the road. The vehicle won’t start, but at least you have enough supplies to survive a few hours. However your cell phone battery is almost dead. Before you call for help, it might be a good idea to change your voicemail message to give your location. That way if the call for help gets dropped anyone trying to call your phone will know your location whether your phone works or not!
I hope these tips are useful to you, and I hope you never need them! None of us will know if you’ll need them until it’s too late, so please be prepared for the worst and hope it never happens!
For our parting shot, check out Adrienne dressed for the weather as we repair a hangar door:
