Whether it’s a light snowfall or two-day blizzard, being prepared for winter and taking the right steps to stay safe can make the season enjoyable and fun for everyone.
Winter Safety and Prep
November 24, 2025: By the time Thanksgiving arrives, the northern states have already seen snow, many lakes are frozen, and residents are ready for winter. Over the past weekend, temperatures dipped to 10 degrees in northern Wisconsin. Some locals have their snowplows on pickups and SUVs. At a hardware store, the shelf for plastic window covering to keep out drafts is empty.
Meteorological winter begins December 1, and astronomical winter on December 21 (winter solstice). And even though Meteorological winter ends on February 28 (or February 29 in leap years), most of us realize that we can count on winter weather through March and often into April.
Although there are a few places in the country that never see snow or sub-freezing temperatures, winter weather is possible in every state including Hawaii.
Winter Weather Preparation
Everyone should have a plan for winter weather preparation that covers their home, vehicle, and family. It makes sense to ensure your home is ready for winter with heat and electricity. You wouldn’t want your car to break down while trying to get home before a blizzard or ice storm hits. Keeping your family safe means having the supplies necessary to weather a storm that makes it hard to get out for several days.
Home Safety Tips:
- In below zero weather, allow your cold-water faucets to drop or even trickle. It prevents pipes from freezing.
- Check CO and Fire alarms. Make sure they are working. If they have batteries, the annual time change from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time is a good time to change the batteries.
- Add a portable power station to your emergency kit. Use it to keep your phone charged during an outage.
- Never use an oven to heat the house. Too often, trying to do this turns into a disastrous fire.
- Never use heating or cooking appliances labeled for outdoor use only indoors.
Winter Home Emergency Prep
Lack of heat, frozen pipes, and spoiled fresh food are three important winter hazards to prepare for in advance.
Non-perishable Food Supply
Did you know that when the power goes out, the temperature in your refrigerator begins to rise. Within four hours, your refrigerator is no longer a safe place for perishable food. A couple of hours in the danger zone and food is unsafe to eat. Unless you have a way to keep the fridge cold, you’ll need an alternative to fresh, perishable foods.
Start by purchasing one extra day of non-perishable food with your weekly grocery shopping each week. In a month, you’ll have four days of emergency food set aside. After you have enough for seven days, start rotating it into your weekly meal plan.
For example, If your non-perishable foods include canned tuna, then once a month, buy canned tuna and replace the tuna already in your emergency food. Use the tuna from the emergency food to make a meal. Do this with all the foods in your emergency supplies.
Seal Your Home
Look for places where your home loses heat. Windows and doors are the usual culprits. Seal windows for the winter with plastic sheets and double-sided tape. Kits are available at most home centers and hardware stores. Replace worn weather stripping around exterior doors. The sweep (at the bottom of the door) needs a good seal against the threshold. Replace if needed.
Other places like dryer vents, air conditioning hoses and electrical may have gaps. Seal with caulk, expanding foam, or insulation.
Do you have curtains or drapes? Heavy curtains over windows reduce heat loss.
Don’t forget attic spaces. The space between your top-most ceiling and the roof is one of the largest contributors to heat loss. Especially in older homes, poorly sealed ductwork can suck the heat right out of your home, leaving it drafty and uncomfortable.
Essential Non-Perishable Foods
When preparing for emergencies, it’s crucial to stock up on non-perishable foods that provide nutrition and energy. Here’s a list of recommended items:
- 1 gallon of water, per person, per day, for drinking & hygiene. A family of 4 needs 28 gallons for a 7-day supply. (1 gallon/day x 4 people x 7 days)
- Canned meats (tuna, chicken, salmon)
- Peanut butter
- Canned beans (black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas)
- Nuts and trail mixes
- Jerky (beef, turkey)
- Whole grain crackers
- Instant oatmeal
- Rice (white or brown)
- Pasta
- Instant potatoes
- Granola bars
- Canned fruits (in water or 100% juice)
- Canned vegetables (choose low sodium when possible)
- Dried fruits (raisins, apricots)
- Applesauce (unsweetened)
- Powdered milk or shelf-stable milk
- Non-dairy milk alternatives (almond, soy)
- Cookies and hard candy
- Instant coffee or tea bags
- Sweetened cereals
- Popcorn
- Sugar, salt, and pepper
- Cooking oil (olive or vegetable)
- Vitamins and supplements
Backup Power Source
A Cummins Home Standby Generator specially equipped for cold weather. Zero starting problems down to zero degrees, or choose the extreme cold model for reliable starts down to -40° F.
How to Use a Portable Generator for Home Backup Power
Even if you don’t power your entire home, a backup generator can keep your house warm, the fridge cold, and let you cook a meal. Charge electronics to keep in touch. Power home internet to stay up to date. For those on a budget—and who isn’t these days—portable generators are an affordable option. Add a manual transfer switch and your furnace works, and you won’t have extension cords running everywhere. Purchase enough power for essential and critical circuits with enough margin that if you must add an unplanned load, you won’t overload the generator.Portable Generator Safety Rules Keep You Safe in Winter
For a home, a tri-fuel or dual fuel generator is the best option. Tri-fuel models can run on gasoline, propane, or natural gas. Dual fuel models for propane or gasoline. Don’t forget daily oil checks and changing the oil on time. However, portable generators are not automatic. If you’re away from home when an extended outage hits, your home will be without power until the utility turns it back on. By then, you might have frozen pipes, spoiled food in the fridge, and enough damage to make your home unlivable. There’s a better option to portables, albeit pricier. An automatic home standby generator is ready to restore power within seconds after an outage hits. It can run for up to a week without service. Best of all, it works even if you are not home, to keep your heat on, the fridge cold, and the sump pump running. Almost as important, you won’t be running to the gas station or propane filling station every day. Portable Power Stations are the best option for people who live in apartments or condominiums. A power station is a battery that stores energy. You can charge from a wall outlet, with solar panels, in your car, from a portable generator, or in some cases, from an electric vehicle charger. Know the charging options of a power station before you buy. Simpler to use than a generator and without the noise, they can power almost any 120-volt appliance, with options for USB charging and 12-volt accessories. Generators and power stations have fixed capacities. With a generator, as long as you have fuel and oil, the generator provides power. A power station has a fixed charge capacity. Once it is used up, it must be recharged again. It’s important to understand the energy requirements of the appliance you want to keep powered. For example, if your refrigerator uses an average 300 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, that is 300/365 = 0.82 kWh per day. A power station with a 1000 watt-hour (or 1 kWh) of storage will run the fridge for a little more than a day. If you have two power stations, each with enough capacity for a day, you can charge one while using the other. Tip: Electric vehicle chargers offer the fastest charging option. If one is available, and has power during an outage, it’s the best charging option.Outdoor Winter Safety
If you’re going out, whether to clear snow or head into work, remember to dress according to the weather. Pay attention to the temperature. We all hear about wind chill, but when you’re properly dressed, it’s the actual temperature that matters.
Appropriate dress begins with layers. If you get too warm and start to sweat, remove a layer. Sweating in cold weather is dangerous. Clothes damp with perspiration will chill you fast.
Related: Winter Weather Safety Tips
Three Essential Layers
- Moisture wicking base layer. Light clothing that wicks moisture away from your body.
- A mid layer adds warmth and insulation. Think fleece, wool, or synthetic insulation. Normally, it’s not a thick layer, but usually warm enough that if you’re working, you can take off the outer layer.
- The outer layer keeps out the wind and moisture, either rain or snow. It adds another layer of insulation for the times when you’re not working. This layer should also include a hat and gloves or mittens. In the wind, cover your face with a scarf or balaclava.
Hydration
Stay hydrated. You still need the same amount of water. When you’re working, you need more water. Stay hydrated.
Working Outdoors
Don’t skip the warmup. A little stretching goes a long way in the winter as in the summer.
Moving wet, heavy snow is more exertion than some people realize. If it’s too much for you, get someone else to do it. Hire a kid. Pay for snow removal service. Buy a snowblower.
No one likes salt. It sticks to your shoes and follows you inside. Depending on the type and the temperature, it can melt snow and ice into water or turn it into a slush that’s slipperier than the ice you were trying to get rid of. It’s also heavy. Scoop manageable amounts into a bucket and spread it lightly. Be sure to buy the appropriate kind for the temperatures you anticipate.
Winter Vehicle Preparedness
The last thing you need when hurrying home from work during a winter storm is trouble with your car. Here’s a few vehicle prep tips to keep you on the road in the winter.
Winter driving conditions make everything worse. You have less traction and it takes longer to stop. Check the tread on your tires with a penny. If part of Lincoln’s head disappears, you’re good. Can you see the top of his head? Get new tires.
When cold weather hits, tire pressure drops. There’s a label on the inside of the driver’s door that lists recommended tire pressures. Stop by your local tire store or garage and get your tire pressure checked or buy a tire pressure gauge and do it yourself. It’s easy and they only cost a few dollars.
Keep your tank at least half full. It means filling up more often, but doesn’t mean you’re spending more on gas. A full tank is less likely to allow moisture to freeze in the gas line or fuel pump. And, if you do get stuck or stranded, you’ll have plenty of gas to keep the engine running so you can stay warm.
And if you are stranded, make sure you crack the windows an inch for fresh air when you’re running the engine.
A three-wick candle, the kind that comes in a jar, can raise the temperature inside your car by up to twenty degrees. Keep it in a safe place away from the kids. Don’t forget to crack your windows.
Put a shovel in your trunk or the back of your car. If you get stuck in deep snow, shovel it away from the tires—front, back, and sides—and anywhere it’s built up under your car or in front of it. Kitty litter or poultry grit are good for adding traction to get you unstuck.
Make an emergency kit with a battery flashlight, extra batteries, some high calorie bars, blankets (or sleeping bags for kids) bottled water (added for the trip), and a bottle of windshield washer fluid.
Winter prep is a good time to check and replace the wiper blades.
Increase stopping distance when driving on snow or ice. Slow down. Learn to recognize black ice. The worst hazard on the road is other drivers. You don’t know what they know or don’t know. If you’re on black ice, the safest thing to do is get off the road entirely. It is never safe to drive on black ice, which may look exactly like the road surface you’re driving on.
Remember Your Pets
Some pets thrive in cold weather. Others do not. Unless you have a breed that thrives in the winter, bring them inside to a warm bed. Outdoor breeds may require more food in the winter, especially fat, and they need at least as much water. Bring fresh water whenever needed. A frozen water bowl won’t do them any good.
Salt hurts paws. Avoid walking your pet on salt-covered sidewalks or streets. When you get home, clean it off their paws. Even better—get them boots to wear outside. They don’t cost much and do wonders for protecting delicate paws. The first few minutes may be comical, but they’ll get used to it.
Does your dog live indoors most of the time? Maybe they have a thin coat without an undercoat. A layer in the form of a coat or sweater helps keep them warm so they can enjoy the outdoors too.
Winter Preparedness
Winter can be a season of incredible beauty, especially after a snowfall, or when ice puts a light glaze on trees and shrubs. There’s plenty to do outside in the winter, all you need is the right clothes and a little preparedness.
Stay safe and keep warm, and the season can be just as rewarding as any other.
Some dogs prefer outside living, even in the most extreme temperatures.
