How to Survive Winter

Warnings have been issued by the UK Met Office, Met Eireann, and various other sites for wintry weather from Thursday onward. A cold front is set to sweep across the British Isles during Thursday, and temperatures will drop quickly. There may be snow pretty much anywhere between now and Monday the 20th. Get ready!

The first cold snap of the winter is now passing, but there’s almost certainly more in store. People all over Ireland and the UK have been snowed in – not so much that they couldn’t get out at all, in most cases, but such that they couldn’t get out in any comfort, or get back in with groceries or fuel. In recognition of that, here’s some advice for the next time – a list of things you should do now if you got snowed in this time. This is mostly aimed at people in rural areas; urban and suburban areas don’t get cut off to the same degree.

It’s important to remember that while snow isn’t all that dangerous if you know how to deal with it, most people in this part of the world don’t know how. They barely know how to walk in snow, let alone drive, and there’s a distinct possibility that venturing out in that kind of weather can leave you stranded elsewhere. The best thing to do if it’s difficult to move is not move. Don’t feel you need you get to the shops during a snowy or icy period – instead, follow these simple steps, and you won’t have to.

1. Store food – canned and dry foods are ideal here. Rice, pasta, and potatoes will keep better than bread, but throw a few sliced pans or whatever in the freezer if you can’t live without it. Have enough to go for a week without leaving the house.
2. Store water – if your pipes are prone to freezing, then fill a few buckets and the bathtub with water. If you have your own well, or a gravity feed, feel free to leave a tap running. If you’re on a mains supply, do not leave a tap running.
3. Store fuel – fuel in this case means heating material. Wood, coal, oil, wood pellets, whatever you need. If you’ve only electrical heat, consider getting a gas heater that runs from a cylinder of gas, and get a spare cylinder.
4. Buy a snow shovel and a stiff brush – and keep your paths clear. At the least, keep a footpath from you to a public road clear. If you’re up to it, make sure sloping areas of your driveway are cleared so a car has a chance of getting in and back. Clear snow each time it stops falling; this will avoid the packed ice that results otherwise and makes driving and walking so much more difficult.
5. Get some entertainment in – books, DVDs, boardgames, whatever suits. You’ll be bored, so give yourself something to do.
6. Get candles – power cuts during snow aren’t as common as they used to be, but they can still happen. Have a stash of candles in for light, and, as above, make sure you’ve a non-electrical source of heat. Ideally, also have a camping stove or the like so you can heat food.

Nothing in this is complicated or difficult; people used to do it regularly and routinely, and it’s only in the last 20 years or so in the British Isles that we’ve got out of the habit with mild winters. Get the goods in, and keep an eye on the weather forecasts.