A lot of people are about to be hit with a big winter storm who are not used to this kind of weather. Here are some tips from a Minnesotan:
Keeping warm:
-
avoid cotton fabrics.
-
Use layers, take them off if you start to sweat.
-
I like tight gloves with thick mittens, which allows use of your hands sometimes without skin exposure.
-
A face mask works as a scarf or another layer in a pinch
-
Warm up your home in case you lose power. Power outages may happen after the snow/freezing rain stops
Snow removal:
-
Lift with your legs, not your back.
-
Don’t save all of the shoveling for the very end of the storm, it’ll be more difficult and will start to create an ice layer (especially where walked on)
-
if you have a car, lift up the windshield wipers before it starts snowing/freezing rain
-
Completely clean your car soon after the storm. In most places, it’s illegal to drive with a lot of snow/ice on your car and super dangerous.
-
If you’re parked on a street, move the car to a plowed area when possible so they can plow where you were parked
-
If you have a driveway, clear off part of the street in the direction the plow will come from, so that doesn’t end up blocking your driveway
Driving
-
stay home until streets are plowed if possible (thank you healthcare workers and emergency responders!)
-
Turn on ABS brake and traction control settings, if available
-
accelerate and take turns slowly
-
Have more time/distance to brake
-
Speed up before going up an incline, getting stuck and sliding back down is not fun
Sliding on ice:
-
If walking, keep your feet underneath your center of gravity
-
If driving, switch to neutral and steer in the direction that the back of the car is sliding, but don’t overreact on steering. Slamming brakes will make sliding worse.
Car stuck in snow:
-
turn off traction control
-
don’t just let the tires spin out
-
try shoveling, sand/kitty litter, and rocking back and forth
-
Once you get moving again, don’t stop
Edit: if you do lose power, have a faucet or two drip water to prevent the pipes from freezing and bursting
Edit 2: if you see ICE, follow these steps
Excellent advice.
Regarding windshield wipers: my mechanic advises people not to leave them up. He says that doing this too often can stretch the springs in your wipers, ultimately reducing the downforce that makes them effective. Someone else in the comments mentioned using a vinyl (or cardboard) cover for your windshield - this can be a good timesaver that is kind to your wipers.
Another small one for driving: unless you need to stop/slow down, it’s far better to just let of the gas/accelerator and coast that to touch the brakes and risk breaking traction. This goes for things like, unsure if person in lane a wants to move over? Unsure if person is going to pull out? Similar things. If its slick, you really don’t want to overuse your brakes.
We never used to get studded tires BUT the climate has changed dramatically. It used to get cold and stay cold but now it may be 40 and rain then drop into the teens, leaving a slippery ice coating. Studded tires help a lot. A 4-wheel drive vehicle can get you going but they cannot stop or steer any better than a 2-whell drive vehicle.
- turn off traction control
In some cars to turn off the traction control and ABS, you have to push and hold the button on the dash (usually depicted with a wheel and two squiggly lines). You will know it is off if the ABS and/or TCS alert lights appear on the dashboard.
Waddle like a penguin on ice. They rarely fall over
i do that naturally
Learn where the water shutoff is to your house.
If the worst happens and you lose power for any significant amount of time with no way to heat your home, and you face leaving your house find someplace warm, shut the water off. Some might suggest leaving taps trickling, and that might work for sinks, but won’t for toilets and other pipes.
Open the lowest spigot in the house to drain as much water as possible. Flush the toilets enough times to empty the tanks. Pour cheap vodka in the toilet “S” traps and sink “U” traps as a cheap antifreeze.
I’ve had to winterize a house on several occasions, learned the hard way on a couple occasions when I came back to a busted toilet or cracked drain.
E: oh, and clean your damn car roof off. I’m tired of chunks of snow flying off cars into mine, or almost as bad, the clowns that hit the brakes and the snowpack slides forward completely blocking their windshield. Now they can’t see and are blocking the road.
to add: get the proper rated winter wiper washer fluid.
once forgot I had the summer stuff still in (because it doesn’t smell like shit like the stuff with antifreeze) and I turned it on mid drive while it was freezing outside.that was fucking scary, having suddenly no view at 40 mph.
luckily the road was straight, but I was driving like Ace Ventura in the freezing cold until I could safely pull over.
learn that one from me, so you don’t have to learn that lesson yourself, and hopefully never at freeway speeds.stay safe out there you all! (and best of luck all Minnesotans, stay strong, together!)
Good tip on prepping the drain pipe traps, that should help. I’m sure there are better options if you have the right tools but as a stopgap solution, it would help lower the freezing point and gives you better odds of not coming back to a cracked pipe.
I am considering turning the thermostat all the way up and sitting around in my underpants today just in case the weather takes out power tomorrow.
why underpants? just let that shit breathe and feel freeee
Okay, not sure how snow is news to 200 people or relevant in the first place…
Most of a continent is about to see much colder than usual weather. Forecasts where I am are predicting windchills down to -40, and I have a friend north of me who’s looking at windchills down to -60F. I have a coworker in Texas who’s looking at snow and ice in the next few days as well. Tips like this are useful for folks who live in places that don’t get snow and ice
Also when getting stuck with a car: dont hit on the gas but try to get out slowly for more tire grip
if you have a car, lift up the windshield wipers before it starts snowing/freezing rain
I’d say spend the $10-$20 and get a windshield cover. It will change your life, never having to scrape again.
Speed up before going up an incline, getting stuck and sliding back down is not fun
Do not stop on an incline either. If there’s a red light, run it. (safely of course.)
spend the $10-$20 and get a windshield cover
You can use cardboard in cold weather, or even clean floor mats.
This one’s full of the most solid advice, along with his other video on what to put in an emergency preparedness bag/box in your car
If you’re in a location that will get a significant amount of snow, 8” or more, find the fire hydrant closest to your house and clear an area around it to at least a couple feet.
That’s assuming there even is one in your neighborhood.
This storm will be blanketing very populated areas with an amount of snow they don’t often see.
When walking with a lot of ice, always walk on the snowy, cloudy, and/or crunchy looking areas. You’ll get more grip with the crunch of the ice and snow than on just ice. If it looks clear, didn’t go near. (Or something like that)
A fall might cost you thousands of dollars in medical bills. Get boots or shoes with good traction soles. For hard packed snow or ice get spiral type slip on ice-creepers unless you are going to be outside only, then get ones with studs. Walk like a penguin if caught one ice without them.
If you’re just going to pop out to the store, don’t neglect your wardrobe! Dress for the ditch, not your destination. If you slide off the road you don’t want to be freezing to death in your sneakers and hoody trying to dig your car out. Bonus points for bringing a shovel, trying to dig your car out with an ice scraper sucks.
I actually turn off all traction control the second I get in my car. Abs is good, but that shitty traction control has almost caused more accidents than its helped. It also causes you to get stuck in deep snow by cuttng engine power. I know how to actually control my car in a slide, the nannies make it understeer which causes going right off into a ditch or another car.
Turn off your nannies and go drive around in an empty parking lot to practice car control! So many people have no idea what to do in a slide and they panic.
