How To Prepare For A Snow Storm

The Capital Region is looking at a big, messy snow storm on Friday. The heaviest stuff is expected to hit sometime during the afternoon and continue throughout the evening, possibly until Saturday morning. The area could get buried with about 9 inches of snow. Areas east of Albany could see more. I don’t think you’ll need to hide in your doomsday bunker, but it’s always good to be prepared. We’re Upstate New Yorkers… we got this!

I gathered some preparedness tips for you from throughout the interwebz. First, you want to make sure you have some essential supplies handy:

• Batteries

• A Fully Charged Cell Phone/Portable Cell Charger

o Download The Free RadioPup App – if your cable goes out and you don’t have a battery operated radio, you can track the storm locally by listening to our cluster of local radio stations.

• Flashlight

• Shovel – even if you live in an apartment, it could take some time for crews to dig or plow your vehicle out.

• Food – make sure you have enough non-perishables to last a few days.

• Can Opener (not electric)

• Blankets and Warm Clothing

• A Gas Powered Stove or Grill

• Matches and a Lighter

• Prescription Meds – always make sure you have enough to get you through a few days.

• Diapers, Formula and Baby Food (if you have little ones, of course)

Various tips:

• Cut away tree branches that could fall on your house.

• Have a contractor check the strength of your roof.

• Allow faucets to drip a little during extreme cold to avoid pipes freezing.

• Anticipate long power outages (and prepare for such).

• If it seems like power will be out for a day or two, move food from your freezer. If the temperatures are cold enough you could even move them outside.

• Make sure you have plenty of entertainment. A couple of days without power can be boring and make you anxious or irritable. Stock up on books, crafts, cards and board games.