How to Survive a Winter Storm: From a Minnesotan's Perspective

Bad winter weather is a regular situation in Minnesota. We're never caught by surprise, and you shouldn't be either.

The recent ice storm in the north east portion of the country caught many people by surprise. After a week without electricity many have experienced sever hardship and in some instances life threatening conditions. With many people believing that the storm would only be a minor inconvenience there was little in the way of preparation made before conditions made it impossible for people to go out and obtain their daily needs.

This recent article by R.D. Castle indicates to what degree things came to a screeching halt. Leaving those who didn't stock up on food or supplies stranded and concerned about their very survival.

Would this situation take place in Northern Minnesota? No, it would be hard to imagine. Oh I'm not referring to the weather, that will indeed be much worse. The not being prepared issue is what I'm referring too.

That same storm dropped 12" of snow on most of Northern Minnesota. Followed shortly by another couple inches and 6" more scheduled half way through the next week. The following weekend is going to add another 12" or there abouts too. And we're still below normal on avearage snowfall.

Sure we were busy shoveling out, and of course there was school and business closings during the worst of the weather. All done to keep the roads open for Emergency Responders. The average Joe will hunker down and stoke the home fires through the duration of the storm. Then it's time to break out the snowmobiles and head for the wilderness.

The home fires, this is an important point. Keeping the home fires burning isn't just a saying. In northern Minnesota having at least two ways to heat your home to a livable level is mandatory. Being prepared for power outages is common sense here. It should be mandatory in the building code that homes be equipped with an alternative method of maintaining heat that doesn't require the use of electricity. When we go to the cabin in the winter it takes most of the weekend to get the big stone fireplace up to temperature. By the time the cabin is warmed up it's time to go back home.

Stocking up on groceries, we don't need to make any extra effort to obtain any last minute supplies beyond an extra couple gallons of milk. We all have 90 days to six months of food in the chest freezer and neatly stacked in the pantry. Keeping staples on hand so we can make what ever dish we're in the mood for is how we live. Lefse, or Lutefisk even pickled herring, we're set for the winter. Deer season was just last month, we all have venison in the freeezer.

Minnesotan's don/t stay snow bound for long. With today's modern weather forecasting we have plenty of prior warning to fill up the gas can for the snowblower. If we have to we can use the gas from the snow mobile. It's more likely there's a 4x4 pickup with a snowplow parked in the driveway.

As our pickup's age and get replaced with shiny new models, the new one is reserved for Sunday go to meeting and parked in the garage. The old trusty but rusty 5 year old truck it replaced is parked along side the garage pointed toward the road with the snowplow in place. The tank heater is plugged in around the clock and the tire chains are left on year around. There's likely to be half a cord of fire wood stacked in the back for weight. At the first hint that the snowfall is letting up, the driveway is cleared in short order.

If you live out in the country, especially on a lesser traveled road, odds are you'll plow a half mile or more worth of county road as well, just so the Highway Dept can concentrate on the main highways.

If you think the snow was bad remember it needs to be warm (relativly speaking) for it to snow. As soon as the snow stopped the temperature dropped to -25 below.

No we don't panic when the Winter Storm Warnings go out. We load up the wood box so we can fire up the Sauna out back, and call around to see who's turn it is to hold the next Blizzard Party.

If it's going to be a really big one we might even knock a hole in the ice on the lake so we can skinny dip after the Sauna.