As we find ourselves in the midst of winter, it’s important to consider crisis readiness for the season. Only a few years ago, the state of Texas experienced a historic winter storm that triggered a state-wide power grid crisis.
Millions of people were left without power, heat, or drinkable tap water. Water bottles flew off the shelves at grocery stores as people tried to track down clean drinking water. Meanwhile, temperatures plunged below freezing. Across the state, hundreds of people died of hypothermia, as well as carbon-monoxide poisoning and loss of power to medical equipment.
While you can’t prevent a disaster like a winter storm from happening, you can make sure that if a similar disaster affects your family, you won’t be caught off guard. If you have children or elderly dependents in your home, taking precautions for an extended winter power outage is even more critical.
Let’s talk through some of the most important steps you can take to prepare your home for a grid-down winter crisis.
Water Filtration for Winter Storm
If you live in an area that could be impacted by severe winter storms, the first step for home readiness is having a way to produce clean drinking water. Yes, staying warm is important, but having drinkable water is the number one most critical preparation. Most people can survive in the cold, but no one can live without water for more than a few days.
When the power grid goes down, municipal wastewater treatment facilities are often impacted. Tap water may become contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and parasites. If you’ve ever received a boil notice phone call or text message from your city or county, you’ve experienced this before.
Boiling water is an easy method for purification, as long as you have natural gas or electricity for your kitchen stove. But what if the power is out and the gas stops flowing? In the 2021 Texas winter storm, many families lost access to both electricity and natural gas. Having the right gear to purify contaminated tap water completely off grid will ensure that you can continue to provide potable water to your family throughout a crisis.
There are many water filtration options on the market, with varying levels of purification. Brita-style carbon filters will not be sufficient for this scenario, as they do not remove viruses, bacteria, or parasites. These filters are primarily concerned with removing the taste and odor of chlorine.
By comparison, many gravity filters, such as those available from Lifestraw, are lab tested and proven to remove 99.999% of viruses, bacteria, and parasites from drinking water.
If you want to learn more, check out Guide to Disaster Readiness. Duane Liptak covers the ins and outs of water filtration and water storage for grid-down disasters.
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Cold Weather Sleeping Bags
Temperatures drop to their lowest point at night, and so do our resting heart rates. Because of this, staying warm while you sleep is critical to avoid hypothermia. Keep cold-weather sleeping bags as part of your winter grid-down supply kit. Remember to inspect the temperature ratings on each sleeping bag to ensure that they are appropriate for the conditions you anticipate.
Temperatures inside your home can drop to nearly the same temperature as outdoors if your heat is out for long enough. You’ll want sleeping bags that are intended for cold temperatures, ideally 32 degrees or lower. You can also supplement sleeping bags with additional blankets to trap body heat.
Grid-Down Heat Source
If the grid goes down during winter, you’ll ideally have a backup option for generating heat inside your home. If you have a wood burning stove or wood burning fireplace, this is an easy one. Just make sure to keep a supply of firewood handy. If you have a natural gas fireplace, you can use this as a heat source as long as natural gas is flowing. However, natural gas supplies may be disrupted in grid-down winter storm.
As another backup option, consider a propane heater that can be used inside your home. Just make sure to buy a unit that is rated for indoor use, and keep a carbon monoxide detector nearby just in case. Many propane heaters are not safe for indoor use, as they release carbon monoxide gas.
Parting Thoughts
We’ve touched on just a few basic precautions you can take to get your home ready for a grid-down winter crisis. If you live in an area where power outages during winter are a concern, consider taking Secure a Grid-Down Home. Tray Ardese explains the detailed preparations you can make to keep your family safe and comfortable during an extended power outage. Taking these steps in advance could make a massive difference in your family’s comfort during a winter disaster, and in some cases, it could even be life-saving.
