How To Prepare For Weather Emergencies

Living in a hurricane-prone area planning for a weather-related emergency becomes routine. Although it may seem like the norm we still tend to put it off…again and again!

In our state, the weather changes often. Summer one day, Fall the next, and Winter the following week. Because of this sometimes we experience tornados too. We are in the South but in the North, we experience ice or freezing rain. The snow does not quite reach us sometimes.

So we have to plan for all the above just in case a weather-related emergency arises.

This took me a while to finally get it! I would say, year after year that I was going to prep for weather emergencies but another year would go by and another year. Not to mention low on funds when bad weather would roll around.

In 2020 I went on this prepping journey; starting a food pantry (you can read why you need a prepper pantry here) and emergency supplies for my family. Who would have thought as I am writing this our Nation would be covered 70% in snow. Leaving some places without power in these freezing temps.

I remember experiencing freezing temperatures in the Winter. Also lost power for over a week growing up during hurricane season.

It was TERRIBLE! Just Terrible!

I want to share some ways that I have prepared for weather-related emergencies for my family. I still have some items to add to my preparation list. I have a checklist that you can download (HERE). Purchase what is best for you and your family/budget.

I still have more emergency preparation that I need to do for my family. Writing this post certainly helped me this week.

*This post contains affiliate links, they are no extra cost to you if you use them.

Non-Perishables & Water

Water

I can not tell you the importance of having a food emergency prepper pantry and water for drinking, cleaning, cooking, flushing the toilet and etc.

Water is so important! We can not survive without water for more than 3 days. So water is a must to have for emergencies and survival.

The CDC recommends having 1 gallon of water per person per day for a least 3 days. FEMA recommends having a least 2 weeks supply for each family member.

For example for my family of 5, we should have a minimum of 15 -70 gallons of water.

A WaterBob is very helpful to have just in case you lose water access to your home. Some water bobs hold about 100 gallons. That will help with the minimum requirement for my family so this is a must for me to add to my emergency prepping list. It is very convenient to save on space and storage.

Water storage bins are helpful to have on hand instead of having many gallons of jugs of water. I like this idea so much better and they stack very easily!

Water filters are very helpful when you are not quite sure of the quality of water that you are getting from the source and it needs to be cleaned. 

One of my dream items for my emergency preparation list is the Berkey water filter. 

Life straws for your bugout bags and emergency car kits are useful to have on hand (which I will talk about later).

Or just using a Brita water filter would be most useful.

You may want to come with a plan to get rid of waste as well.

GRAB YOUR ULTIMATE PREPPER PANTRY WORKBOOK TO HELP YOU GET STARTED STEP BY STEP

Ultimate Prepper Pantry Workbook | 37 Pages – How To Build A Prepper Pantry Guide | Emergency Preparedness – Planner – DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

When I started my stockpile prepping journey I wished I had a resource that would help guide me along the way. So I created a workbook to point you in the direction to get you started on your new journey.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PREPPER PANTRY WORKBOOK

Non-perishable foods

In case of power loss, non-perishable foods will help you get by until you are able to cook and prepare foods. I have an entire video playlist of foods that I hauled over the months to stock our food prepper pantry.

With non-perishable canned foods having a manual can opener is a MUST! I purchased a hand manual can opener but knowing the nature of my husband he is prone to breaking things, so I also got a battery-operated can opener and I LOVE THIS ONE! It is great for my carpal tunnel as well.

Generator

This was a must for us and what did I do?! I got lazy and slack. So this is something that is now at the top of my list!! I found the best prices at Sams. So that will be our family’s best option unless we find one cheaper somewhere else.

If you do not have Sam’s membership check out this deal.

You know…I am not even fully prepared. Nevertheless, I feel more prepared now than if I never would have started emergency prepping earlier last year.

Be sure to NEVER use a generator inside of your home! It is very dangerous and could cause death due to the toxic fumes of carbon monoxide.

Carbon Monoxide Detector

Having a carbon monoxide detector would also be helpful to have in your home for everyday safety reasons.

Gas

Make sure that you have gas for your generator, fill your car up, propane tanks, and kerosene (if you need it).

Having a full tank of gas is important in case of power outages and you are unable to get gas because the pumps are not working or not able to get to the gas stations.

I remember after Hurricane Fran in North Carolina it was lines down the road to get to this one gas station with the old-timey style pumps that had power (via a generator). Also, the bank ATMs were down and many people could not get money out or use their debit/credit card at the pumps.

Make sure to have extra gas tanks on hand in case you need to refill.

Cash On Hand

Having some extra cash on hand is important for any emergency that may arise. Set up some sort of hotel fund to have in case your family needs to book a room for a night or two. Put away $5 or $10 every pay period to build your emergency hotel fund.

RELATED BLOG POST:

What Is A Prepper Pantry? Why Everyone Should Have An Emergency Prepper Pantry

How To Start A Food Prepper Pantry

Beginners Prepper Pantry Ideas

Cooking Source

I purchased this wonderful book and workbook called: A Year Without The Grocery Store. In the book, she recommends five different sources to cook your food.

If you have a gas stove, that is one source automatically! I wish we had a gas stove.

I have three sources and need to work up to five.

A gas or/and charcoal grill is something that we may already have on hand. Make sure that it is in proper working condition and extra propane or charcoal.

I did not go and purchase a large charcoal grill just a small compact grill that we could prepare food if we need it.

Having a butane and/or propane stove is a great source for cooking your food. These stoves are normally found in the camping section of stores like Walmart or Target.

Also do not forget to purchase butane or propane for the correct stove that you purchased. Make sure to read the directions on the box (I am sure it is somewhere on the box before you purchase it of what type of gas is required).

DO NOT USE THESE STOVES INSIDE! THEY WILL PUT OFF DEADLY FUMES AND COULD CAUSE DEATH!

Investing in a cast iron pan would be a great idea too!

Cooler

When we were without power for a week when the hurricane came through our area. We pulled out our cooler from the garage. We did not have a fridge that had an ice maker at the time. So I remember my Daddy searching for ice.

He was able to find some and we use the ice to keep some of our perishables. Some of those items we kept cold were the baby formula, milk, mayo for tuna and sandwiches (not necessary but a luxury), cheese, and luncheon meat.

This cooler saved us! We could not put everything in it and all of our food went bad in the September heat, but the cooler saved us.

Having Ziploc bags and some paper products in your stockpile is helpful. The Ziploc bags keep items dry from the ice and water in the cooler.

If you have an ice maker be sure to pull that cooler out and dump the ice right away into it. This will help save the cold must-have items in your fridge and that ice from melting in the bin. If you don’t have the space be sure to grab the $1.00 styrofoam coolers that they have a Dollar Tree in the Spring and Summer to add to your prep stockpile.

Heating Source

Heat is vital for us to survive. A person’s normal body temperature is around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and if it falls to 95 degrees Fahrenheit or below it can cause hypothermia according to Livescience.com

I remember on two occasions that I can recall that it was freezing in our home that I grew up.

Once was when ice was on the power lines and that caused the power to go out for hours. We had a gas fireplace but the home we grew up in was old. So the heat ventilation was not the best and somehow it seemed like it pulled the air from the back of the house to the front and made the Livingroom colder. I know, crazy! But it did! I was so worried about making sure that my baby stayed warm (he is now almost 22 years old, smile).

The other time was when my Grandmother was sick in the hospital. My Mom stayed back with her and my Dad was working all weekend. So my brother and I headed back home (2 hours away) because we had to work and go back to class the next day. The house was freezing!! Our heat went out months prior and we were using a kerosene heater to heat the front of our home.

When I tell you I have never been so cold in my life!! I had triple layers on from head to toe, multiple blankets, left my door opened (because I wanted the heat to come in), left the heater on all night, and said a prayer. *Don’t do this!!*

My Mom and Day taught us to never leave it on at night but we had no choice. It was freezing and no heat was run in the house all weekend. I was afraid that I would not wake up from freezing to death, not from using the Kerosene heater. Again Do Not Do This!!

These experiences are something that I will never forget! So I wanted to make sure that we had some sort of alternative heating source for our home.

You may already have one in your home, don’t overlook those sources.

Some sources of heat:

• Woodstove
• Wood or gas fireplace
• Mr. Heater (be sure to have propane)
• Kerosene heater (make sure it is one safe to use inside)
• Firewood
• Outdoor fire pit
• Plenty of warm blankets
• Tent – I have seen a lot of posts going around with families keeping warm in tents and blankets with their body heat. How smart!

If you can think of any more please let me know!

Emergency Supplies

• Emergency Weather Radio
• Batteries
• Candles
• Hot hands warmers
• Cooling towels
• Lanterns (oil if you need it) or Solar lights
• Matches and/or lighters
• Ice melt / Salt for sidewalks or stairs
• Power bank, 4 Patriots sells a solar power bank (certainly on my wish list)
• Aluminum Foil or Pans (foil is great for catching wax from candles without burning yourself and for cooking)
• Extra supply of medications and prescriptions
• Solar lights (A safe way to shine light in the darkness)

Car Emergency Kit

Also in the book; A Year without the grocery store she mentions Car emergency kits. This was something that I should have had done a while ago!

I know that I am certainly going to shop my home first before creating a shopping list. I am sure you and I may have these items already on hand.

This kit is important if you can not get back home, are stuck in traffic or any emergency shall arise.

Dollar Tree is also a great resource to stock your emergency kits and bug-out bags which we will talk about next.

Bug Out Bags

A bug-out bag or kits are just supplies that you would need and have on hand if you have to leave your house in a hurry. It could be a fire, flood, natural disaster or etc.

It was hard for me to even think about making these bags because I did not even want to think about leaving my home. But I have to realize that leaving our home maybe for our safety.

I have the backpacks for everyone and some items on hand. I just need to get with it and put them together!!

Clean up & Shower

I learned years ago when a storm may come through, especially a hurricane is to wash all of your clothes up. Your power may be out for days and on top of all of the added stress, you do not want to worry about smelly clothes laying around, not having any clothes to wear or grab in case you have to leave.

Also, clean your home, make sure the dishes are washed up. I still remember washing dishes in cold water and the smell of Palmolive will always stick with me forever.

Lastly and certainly not least. If it is somewhat of a threat to losing power and the storm may seem bad (I know sometimes we do not know this!) Take a nice long, long hot shower!!

In the hot summertime, we had to deal with no power due to the hurricane. We had to drive to my Aunt’s house to take a hot shower and get some relief 45 minutes away. Boy, was that a treat!

Games

Having games on hand and activities to help pass the time away. Looking back I am not sure what we did. LOL! Of course, social media didn’t exist, so I am sure it was easier!

• Books
• Puzzles
• Board games
• Card games
• Coloring books

Mindset

Try to stay in a positive mindset. I know that it is very hard to say when you are not in the moment, personally. Looking back as the hours and days went back we knew that worrying about what we could not control was a waste of our energy.

We learned to deal with the uncomfortable heat and keep ourselves cool. Do the important things first when you have sunlight and etc. We spent time together and had great conversations.

We counted our blessings!

Days and months later realizing how scary it was to hear the winds howling in the pitch darkness of night. Trying to remain calm and go back to sleep when I knew I had a huge tree right outside my window.

Those things I will never forget! Never! It was so dark I could not see my hand in front of my face.

Because of those experiences, I chose to be prepared as much as I can control our family. It was a learning experience but it was a blessing in disguise.

As a result, what made me write this post was what was going on in Texas with the snow/ice storm. My heart truly went out for the state of Texas and anyone that was impacted by the storm. I felt so bad! All I could do was pray.

Everything just seemed so unbelievable! This entire situation was on my mind all week. Very tough for me to concentrate on my own selfish reasons when others were suffering.

I know this situation made me realize that I need to continue working on my family’s emergency preparedness. We can not prepare for any and everything!

The ultimate preparedness is given through God’s grace and guidance through his Holy Spirit. But we can use the resources that he has given us to prepare not out of fear but out of knowledge.