Just In Case It Really Happens, Here’s What NOT To Do In The Snow
Well, you've heard it, and I'm sure you're dreading it. The scuttlebutt is we're looking at some good chances of snow coming in this weekend. We've had worse. I remember a few years ago the whole town basically shut down.
So you pretty much know by now what to do if you get snowed in. You're pretty well prepared by now. So now you've got to really sit and think about what's next: What NOT to do.
1) Don't Worry About the Small Stuff.
If you don't have to go out, don't. Simple enough. You don't want to risk getting stuck or getting in an accident out there on the roads. Our road crews do a great job, but it's hard for them to keep up with a storm like this one. So if you wake up and look out and find you can't see your car or the street, it might be best to just stay home. Don't worry about getting that item at the store, or returning that movie to the rental store. If you can work from home, do that instead. If you can't, your employer will definitely understand if you can't get out in all the muck.
2) Don't get overambitious.
Shoveling has to be done. We all know it, and we know it all too well. But don't overdo it. You can easily strain yourself with some of this heavy stuff. Back injuries, frostbite, falls, and a lot of other ways to hurt yourself are very common in situations like this. If you have to do it, do it carefully, and pace yourself. Don't try to do your whole driveway in one go. Break it up into bits and sections. Maybe do your porch, then take a break. Do your front sidewalk, then take a break. Do some of the driveway, and again, take a break.
Make sure you stay warm, and you if it starts to hurt, STOP. After all, you might have a neighbor show up with a new snowblower. Besides, you know Missouri weather, and most of it will melt before you know it anyway. Don't take the risk of laying yourself out. Definitely also make sure you're bundled up when you're doing this work; cold related injuries are just as easy to get as heat related ones.
3 Don't Tune Out.
Once you've made the choice to stay in and not try to fight your way to work, don't just tune every bit of weather related news out. You'll need to know if storms are getting bad enough to get ice on power lines. You'll find it much easier to get your our generator, your extra blankets, your candles, etc., in the light rather than in the dark. You'll want to be prepared. While this storm might not bring power outages, it can't hurt to be ready. If you can keep the radio on low in the background of your indoor activities, you can perk your ear up for cancellations and other weather watch related broadcasts here on the local level. You might also want to keep our station website up in a tab in your browser. That way you can keep up on cancellations and other watches in your own time as well. While it really is tempting to just curl up on the couch with some hot chocolate and an old movie - you don't want to be blindsided by some of the harsher developments.
Basically, like I said, I think we here in Missouri know what to do. We've been here before. We're used to a real winter around here, and most of us are prepared and ready, and can take all that Mother Nature has to dole out. Having said that, enforcing a little common sense in your household goes a long way.
Snowily,
Behka