Winter Storm Guide: Heating, Travel Safety, and Car Kit

What Winter Storms Actually Kill

The mortality breakdown from winter weather surprises most people. According to NOAA analysis of winter storm deaths over multiple decades:

• Road accidents: 40-50% of winter storm deaths
• Hypothermia (including indoor deaths): 15-25%
• Exertion (heart attacks from shoveling, overexertion): 15-25%
• Carbon monoxide poisoning: 5-10%
• Structure fires: 5%

The lesson: the biggest risks are driving, being outside too long, overexertion, and using heating equipment incorrectly. The plan should address all of these.

Before the Storm: What to Do When the Warning Is Issued

48 Hours Before

• Fill your gas tank. Gas stations run dry or have long lines after a storm warning. Full tank before the storm starts.
• Stock food for 4-7 days: storm duration can be 2-3 days, but access to stores may be limited for longer.
• Fill prescription medications if within a week of refill.
• Water: Storms frequently cause power outages which affect municipal water pumps. Store 1 gallon per person per day for 4 days.
• Cash: ATMs go offline when power is out. Have $100+ in small bills.
• Inform someone of your travel plans if you have plans that will extend through the storm.

24 Hours Before

• Bring in firewood if you heat with a fireplace or wood stove. Bring in 3-4 days' supply before the storm starts.
• Move vehicles into the garage if possible — frozen doors, dead batteries, and buried vehicles compound every other problem.
• Charge all devices and backup batteries.
• Identify your heating backup and test it now, not when you need it.

Home Heating During Power Outage

The Safe Room Strategy

Choose one interior room with the fewest exterior walls and windows to concentrate heating. This room will be the most efficient to heat and the most resistant to heat loss.

For a family of four, a 10x12 foot bedroom can be maintained at 50°F+ using:

• A propane heater rated for indoor use (Mr. Heater Big Buddy: 18,000 BTU, heats 450 sq ft)
• One 20-lb propane tank lasting approximately 8-10 hours at full output
• Sleeping bags rated to 20°F or better

Fuel requirement: 48 hours of heat at 50% burner output requires approximately 2-3 20-lb propane tanks. Stock accordingly.

Carbon Monoxide Warning

A Mr. Heater Big Buddy and similar units are designed for indoor use with adequate ventilation. "Adequate ventilation" means a cracked window. Carbon monoxide detectors with battery backup are required when operating any combustion device indoors. If the CO alarm triggers: immediately open windows and doors, evacuate, and do not return until the space is cleared.

Fireplace and Wood Stove

If you have a fireplace or wood stove, you have a reliable heating backup that functions indefinitely. Requirements:

• Adequate firewood (1 cord minimum for a cold winter; 3 cords to heat a house through a full winter)
• Functioning chimney flue — inspect and clean annually
• Fire screen or glass doors — required safety
• Carbon monoxide detector — the same CO concerns apply for wood burning

Travel Decisions

The single most important decision in a winter storm: do not leave your house in your car unless you have to.

When You Must Drive

1. Tell someone: Your route, destination, and expected arrival time.
2. Carry your vehicle kit (see below).
3. Keep your tank above half — you may sit for hours in a traffic backup or on a stalled road.
4. Drive for conditions, not for the speed limit. Speed limits are dry-road standards.
5. If you spin out or get stuck: Stay with the vehicle. Turn on hazard lights. Clear the exhaust pipe of snow periodically (run the engine for warmth 10 minutes per hour). A vehicle is visible; a person on foot in a blizzard is not.

The Stranded Vehicle Scenario

People die every year from hypothermia when stranded in a vehicle — specifically from running the engine for heat with a clogged exhaust pipe and dying from carbon monoxide. This is entirely preventable.

The rule: Before running the engine, clear 2 feet of snow from around the exhaust pipe. Every time you run the engine. No exceptions.

Vehicle Winter Survival Kit

Every vehicle should carry this kit from November through April:

| Item | Notes | |------|-------| | Wool blanket or sleeping bag | Rated to at least 20°F | | Warm gloves and boots | Second set in the car | | High-visibility vest or jacket | For roadside visibility | | Traction boards or cat litter | Getting unstuck | | Snow shovel (folding) | Digging out | | Jumper cables or jump starter | Dead battery is common in cold | | Flares or LED road flares | 3 minimum | | First aid kit | Basic trauma supplies | | Water (2 liters) | Freeze-protected insulated bottle | | Food (high-calorie) | 2,000 calories minimum | | Flashlight + extra batteries | Cold kills batteries faster | | Phone charger cable | | | Ice scraper and snow brush | Keep inside, not in the trunk | | Tow straps | 30-foot, 20,000 lb rating |

Shoveling: The Often-Fatal Task

Approximately 100 people die each year from cardiac events while shoveling snow. The risk is highest in men over 45, in the first 10 minutes of exertion (cold air combined with sudden physical demand), and in people who are already sedentary.

Risk reduction:

• Warm up before shoveling (5-minute light activity)
• Take frequent breaks
• Push snow rather than lifting whenever possible
• Use a lightweight ergonomic shovel
• Dress warmly but not so heavily that you overheat
• Stop at any chest discomfort, shortness of breath, or left arm/jaw pain

A snowblower is a medical device for high-risk individuals, not a luxury.