Winter storms: what to do¶

Winter storms bring heavy snow, ice, and bitter cold, and they can cut power and close roads. This page helps you stay safe at home, heat your space safely, and survive if your car is stranded.

Do this now¶

1. Stay home and off the roads until the storm passes and roads are cleared.
2. Keep warm with layers, blankets, and one warm room. Close off rooms you do not need.
3. Heat safely. Never use a gas oven, stovetop, grill, or generator indoors.
4. Keep a working carbon monoxide detector on each level of your home.
5. If you must travel and get stranded, stay in your car and call for help.

Stay home¶

Winter storm warnings often come 12 to 24 hours before a storm. Use that time to get supplies, fuel, medicines, and water, and then stay in. Avoid going out unless you must.

If you go outside, wear layers, a hat, gloves, and waterproof boots, and cover your face. Take care when shoveling, since cold and hard effort can strain the heart. Take breaks, and stop if you feel chest pain or short of breath.

Heat your home safely¶

... danger "Carbon monoxide kills" Carbon monoxide is a gas with no color or smell. Never run a generator, grill, camp stove, or car engine inside a home, garage, or carport. Keep generators outdoors at least 6 meters (20 feet) from windows, doors, and vents.

Many winter storm deaths come from unsafe heating.

• Never heat your home with a gas oven or stovetop.
• Use space heaters only as the maker says. Keep them at least 1 meter (3 feet) from anything that can burn, and never leave them on while you sleep.
• Keep fireplaces and wood stoves clean, and use them only if they are properly vented.
• Use a battery powered or battery backup carbon monoxide detector, and test it.

If anyone feels dizzy, sick, or confused, or the alarm sounds, get everyone outside to fresh air and call your local emergency number (911 in the United States and Canada, 112 across the European Union, 999 in the United Kingdom).

If the power goes out¶

Put on layers and gather in one room. Hang blankets over windows, and stuff towels under doors. Eat and drink, because food helps your body make heat. If your home gets too cold, go to a warm shelter or the home of a friend or family member.

See our guide on no heat in winter and on power outages.

If your car is stranded in snow¶

Staying in the car is usually safer than walking in a storm. A car is easier for rescuers to find and gives shelter from wind.

1. Call for help and tell them where you are. Turn on hazard lights.
2. Stay in the car. Tie a bright cloth to the antenna or hang it from a window.
3. Run the engine for a short time each hour for heat, with the window cracked slightly.
4. Clear snow from the exhaust pipe first, and check it often. A blocked pipe can fill the car with carbon monoxide.
5. Keep moving your arms and legs, and stay dry.

Do not leave the car unless you can see a safe building close by, because it is easy to get lost in blowing snow. Keep a kit in the car with blankets, water, snacks, a flashlight, and warm clothes. See our car emergency kit guide.

Frostbite and hypothermia¶

Numbness and white or grayish skin are signs of frostbite. Shivering, confusion, and drowsiness are signs of hypothermia, which is an emergency. Move the person to a warm place, remove wet clothing, and wrap them in dry blankets. Warm the chest, neck, and head first. Our guide on hypothermia and frostbite explains more.

Check on others¶

Older adults, babies, and people who live alone are at higher risk in the cold. Check on neighbors by phone or from a safe distance, and share what you have.

Related guides¶

• Hypothermia and frostbite
• Carbon monoxide
• No heat in winter
• Car emergency kit
• Emergency kit