Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer — A Central Maine Power worker clears tree limbs off of power lines … [+]
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Winter is far from over. We’ve still got at least two solid months left to witness snow and ice storms sweep across the country. After all, some of the worst ice storms and cold snaps in recent memory occurred in February. Just ask Texas. It’s never a bad time to make sure you’re prepared for extended power outages. There’s nothing worse than getting caught off guard when the lights go out.
1) Battery packs are a lifesaver.
Throwing our phones on the charger the night before a big winter storm is a great habit to develop. But sometimes the power goes out halfway through the day as our phone batteries are draining away. Rechargeable battery packs are an easy and affordable solution.
These devices are as easy as can be: after charging them to full power, keep them on standby and just plug in your phone’s charging cable when needed. Even a generic store-brand pack usually costs less than $10 and is good for about two charges of a regular smartphone. More expensive models can provide even more juice.
2) Flashlights are essential.
One of the easiest ways to kill your phone’s battery on a dark and stormy night is to use your device’s flashlight feature to look around. It’s great in a pinch when you need to look in a bag or behind a desk, but you don’t want to use this battery-draining feature for much longer than a few seconds.
Keep some actual, honest-to-goodness flashlights on hand, and make sure you’ve got the batteries to refill them. They’re relatively cheap and you can get them just about anywhere. You might go a year or longer without ever using it, but if an ice storm takes out your town’s power grid, you’ll be glad you made the effort.
3) Ready-to-eat food is a must.
The only thing worse than realizing you didn’t charge your phone is the glum realization that most of your food requires some level of cooking. Even a bowl of instant noodles requires some way to boil the water.
The year-round risk for power outages is a good reason to keep some ready-to-eat food on hand. Peanut butter and jelly, crackers, apples, bananas, fruit cups, and even pantry staples like canned pasta and tuna fish are all great foods to keep your family fed and happy until crews restore power. (Just remember a manual can opener or that ravioli won’t do you much good.)
4) Seal your windows and doors.
The hardest part of a wintertime power outage is trying to stay warm. It’s usually doable if the power is only out for one night, but a particularly brutal ice storm can tear down the lines and keep the electricity off for a week or longer.
It’s tough enough trying to keep heat inside under the best conditions. One easy way to preserve as much heat as possible is to make sure your windows are sealed. Even simply locking the window gives you a better chance of avoiding heat-sapping drafts.
While it’s hard to avoid going outside, keeping doors closed and sealed tight—even with a bath towel—can help you keep in enough heat to get you through until power is restored.
5) Never use outdoor appliances indoors.
Extended power outages require some crafty ways to cook and keep warm. Invariably, some folks will try to bring their grills or outdoor heaters inside and expose everyone in the house to an extreme risk of injury or death.
Never use a grill, power generator, or an outdoor heater indoors. Cases of carbon monoxide poisoning often spike during winter storms as a result of misusing these outdoor appliances. Stick to blankets and ravioli indoors and keep those outdoor appliances outdoors.
