WINTER WEATHER SAFETY TIPS
We can help protect ourselves, our families, our friends and our neighbors during these cold weather months with a few simple tips:
- Protect yourself, if you have to be out in the cold weather. Dress in layers of loose-fitting clothing, this allows you to shed layers of clothing should the day warm up. When outdoors cover your head and ears, as much as 40% of body heat is lost through your head, so keep it covered when outside.
- Check on friends, family and neighbors, especially small children and senior citizens as they may be more sensitive to colder temperatures. Keep extra blankets on hand for those cold weather days and nights.
- Protect pets, bring all pets inside especially during the evening and nighttime hours. If pets must be left outside make sure they have an enclosed shelter with the entrance facing away from the wind and provide some type of covering or barrier between them and the ground or floor. NEVER use a lamp or other heat producing device to heat a pet's area.
- Protect your pipes, keep pipes from freezing by making sure that exterior facets are covered and any exposed pipes are insulated or wrapped. During heavy freeze warnings you can also leave your facets dripping, this helps to keep the water moving and lessens the freeze potential. (If you live in an apartment complex, the office may advise residents you to leave facets dripping during times of extreme cold weather)
- Protect your plants, bring potted plants indoors. Plants that can not be moved easily may be covered with a piece of cloth or plastic to provide a barrier from frost.
- Power outages, freezing weather usually means ice. Heavy ice formation can bring down trees and limbs often on power lines causing widespread power outages. Power outages may last for hours and even days for those more severe, but you can be ready.
Keep a supply kit handy especially during these cold weather months. Your kit should include: flashlight, extra batteries, weather radio, extra blankets, non-perishable foods (preferably with pop-tops), medicine, and water. DO NOT use candles during power outages as this creates a fire hazard. Turn off all lights (except one to alert you when the power resumes), turn off all electrical equipment that was in use prior to the power outage. Use gas-powered generators only in well ventilated areas.
- Winter driving, you must use extra caution when driving in cold/freezing weather especially when roads may be wet and/or frozen. Ice on the roadways are a major contributor of most traffic accidents during freezing weather. If you don't have to be on the roads, stay home. If you have to travel use extreme caution and leave extra room between you and the car in front of you. Drive below the speed limit and watch for areas of ice or areas that look wet as they may be patches of ice. Make sure your headlights work and windshield wipers are in good condition. Always use your headlights when driving in hazardous conditions.
Always listen to local news and radio for the latest weather and driving conditions.
For more information on Winter Winter Weather Safety visit: www.nfpa.org, www.flash.org and www.nws.org