At time of writing, the biggest winter storm of the year is supposedly bearing down on us. My brother lives 40 miles north of me, and is actually under a “blizzard warning” from the National Weather Service. While not unusual in the northern states, this is in southwestern Missouri! For those of you who may not know, I live in northwestern Arkansas, and this is extremely rare in this part of the country. Just to give you an idea, it is currently just after 10:00 p.m., and already there are 48 closings listed on a local television station’s website, simply on the prediction! The first flake of snow is yet to fall.
I’m poking a little fun at the situation, but it is very serious. For those of you reading this who are not in this area, you should know that we are simply not equipped to deal with situations like this. We don’t have fleets of snow plows, nor the budget to run them. Heavy snow falls so rarely that it's simply not cost effective to have and maintain a lot of snow removal equipment. The terrain is very hilly and steep, and even a small amount of ice creates very dangerous conditions on roads and sidewalks. Most cities and counties in this area have some snow handling equipment, but not very much. The normal procedure is to wait till it stops, then get out and push the snow off the main roads and let the sun take care of the rest. A big snow for us is 4 or 5 inches, and is usually gone in a few days. Our problem is not really the snow, anyway. It's the ice. Snow plows don't remove ice very well.
The ice storm of 2009 that hit here left millions of residents without power for more than a week. More than 2” of ice accumulated in most places, and anywhere from 1” to 6” of snow fell on top of that. Power lines snapped, and with the added weight of literally thousands of pounds of ice, power poles snapped and fell in domino effect, sometimes for miles. Business ground to a halt, factories were closed, there were even shortages of natural gas and running water because there was no power to run the pumps and equipment to make those things possible. People abandoned stranded cars all over the area, making snow removal even more difficult.
For my more local readers who may have never experienced one, a blizzard is defined by the National Weather Service as “a storm which contains large amounts of snow OR blowing snow, with winds in excess of 35 mph and visibilities of less than 1/4 mile for an extended period of time (at least 3 hours).” NWS Blizzard Page. These storms often produce “white-out” conditions, in which visibility is reduced to zero. The high winds of course create dangerous wind chill factors, and people caught out in their cars in blizzard conditions without sufficient clothing quickly find themselves in life threatening situations. Combine that with the terrain in this area, and you have the makings of a disaster if people don’t stay home.
This storm is predicted to be almost as bad as the 2009 storm, so what should people do to prepare? Well, in reality, by the time you read this, it will be a little late to do anything for this one, and it may be gone by the time some of you find it. In general however, the best thing you can do for this or any significant weather event is to plan ahead. Every family should have an emergency plan, and should practice it. I’m not talking about finding a cave to hide in when the apocalypse comes, but a plan for your family to get through an emergency situation. First of all, you should have pre-arranged meeting places. For instance, if school is dismissed early, do your kids know where to wait for you to pick them up, or do you have to hunt for them? What about on weekends? Do your kids know how to get hold of you? A plan for your home can be fairly simple as well. Lay in a few days’ supply of food and water, any medications you may need, a few flashlights with batteries, perhaps some candles or oil lamps with oil. If you have a wood stove or fireplace, bring several days worth of wood inside so that it will stay dry and be at hand. Make sure your cell phone battery stays charged in the event your power fails. Sparing use will make sure it lasts as long as possible too. A battery powered radio is always a good idea, but don’t forget the batteries for it. Do NOT use charcoal grills, unvented propane or kerosene heaters and similar devices in enclosed spaces. These give off carbon monoxide and can kill you when used indoors. By the same token, if you find yourself stranded on the road and sheltering in your car, limit running your engine to just a few minutes out of each hour. This will not only conserve your fuel supply, but will help prevent exhaust gases from building up in the car. If it’s snowing a lot, make sure the area around your tailpipe stays cleared out. You should carry a couple of blankets and some non-perishable food in the car when extreme weather is predicted, just in case you get stuck and have to wait it out.
The influx of solar power in homes and electric cars is another thing to think about when it comes to preparedness. Solar panels don’t make much electricity when they are covered with snow and ice, and if commercial power has failed, your full electric car may not the best choice for evacuation. Make sure you have a disaster plan that works around these things if they are part of your life.
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