Storm Preparation . . . .

[Pat-inCO]

I continue to be amazed at the number of people in the United States
that FAIL to prepare for adverse weather conditions. Is it just ONE
area of our Country? (Delete your favorite expletive from here) NO!

We look at SoCal and say "I wonder if they will have a forest fire
this year (BET ON IT) because they fail to use fire mitigation
techniques, so they are GREEN (until it burns).

Look at the mountain areas of CO (especially above 7,000 feet) and ask
yourself "will they get a bunch of snow this year?" and the obvious
answer is durn betcha!

Look at the South East portion (especially in the gulf area), will they
experience a hurricane? That's not an IF, but rather how many.

Yet in every occurrence, we see hordes of idiots running to the grocery
store to buy bottled water, meat, bread, some vegetables, toilet paper
(SAY WHAT?), etc. - - - THEN and especially in the South East, make a
mad dash to buy plywood to cover their windows (WHAT the BLEEP
happened to the batch they bought LAST time?).

I can not believe that there are not at least some people willing to
look beyond the end of their nose and prepare. You know: buy extra canned
goods in small quantities each time you go shopping. Buy extra pasta.
Maintain a freezer so you can have meat and the ESSENTIAL, Ice Cream!!
Buy a gas fired generator, in case the power goes out (AND get the
wiring done so it can be easily used). You know the drill.

For those in HURRI-CANE prone areas, why not purchase the plywood for
one window each week? That would allow you to fit them as needed, and
PAINT each piece so it will survive heavy precipitation, etc.
(can you say REUSABLE?)

I think back to when my folks and I moved to CO. Pa was from CO and
understood, thus we were mostly prepared when the first big snow hit.
We were MUCH better prepared for the next one. :wink:

My only guess is that there were VERY few Snowflakes back then. :shock:

 

[Cooperhawk]

My DW is very prepared. She has cases of bottled water, canned goods, ect. I have enough fire wood to get us by for weeks and a 300 gal gas tank to fuel my snow blower, snow :roll: plow, tractor, snowmobiles, ect. We have a thousand gallon propane tank for the house and another smaller one for the shop. I also have a 7000 watt generator and another 4500 watt one on the MH in the shed. You might say we are prepared, still at the first mention of a blizzard she can think of hundreds of things she might need, so to town we go.

Oh and BTW, our power is all underground as well. We seldom lose it.

Go figure.

 

[Fox Mike]

I have to agree. I have friend near Myrtle Beach. He hears "hurricane" and goes into "panic" mode. I try to explain to him that two days before the event is not when you prepare. You start in December and by May you should be about ready for whatever comes (as well as possible). We have a stocked pantry, relatively full freezer, whole house generator, and LOTS of toilet paper. Once again the "7 Ps" holds true.

 

[Captain America]

It’s the winter hurricanes around here that are a problem, much better than a flood but waking up to 36” of snow requires a plan.

 

[Johnnu2]

Pat-inCO, I have a sneaky feeling that those folks you 'see' rushing out to prepare that day before a catastrophe are probably not as many as the MEDIA make it look.... Don't forget the MEDIA make their money by showing us BAD/STUPIS things,.... and it's ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.

OTOH, it could also be those 1%'ers who we've seen all our lives.... remember the kids in grammar school who lived 1000 yds from the school, and were 5 mins late EVERY DAY...(?)

IMHO as always,
J.

 

[SlickRS23]

Sort of like ammo and reloading components.

 

[Fox Mike]

It’s the winter hurricanes around here that are a problem, much better than a flood but waking up to 36” of snow requires a plan.

Yep. Just a bit south of you across the Susquehanna. We also have a snow blower ready if needed.

 

[contender]

The old BSA motto;
"Be Prepared."

 

[Mobuck]

What's that fable about the cricket (?) and the ant???
I've always been the ant. I still have a picture of the road between my house and the highway taken in 1962 showing a 9' deep snowdrift. When I moved here in 1980, that was a fairly recent event. With the exception of one year when I was too sick to be out, about Thanksgiving we mounted the dozer blade and chains on one of the big Deere tractors and parked it in the shed. After a long power outage that cost lots of folks all their frozen food, I invested in a portable generator. I now have 3 if you include the generator feature on the portable welder. I keep the farm fuel barrels and propane tank at least 1/2 full and no less than 2 weeks of stove fuel on hand. We even have a potable water well that can be jury rigged to run temporarily off a genset.
When the kung flu panic hit, we had a 3 month supply of TP, still haven't had to buy any hand sanitizer, powdered milk to use if needed, plenty of canned and frozen food, and the only thing we got caught short on was bread.

 

[GunnyGene]

People have been trained for many generations to depend on the government to rescue them from whatever happens. Self sufficiency has left the building. :roll:

 

[Kevin]

I wonder the same thing sometimes. Especially the plywood. I do hope it gets re-used.

However, not everyone is in the same financial position in life. It's easy to arm-chair judge how others get prepared.

It must be hard for some of those people to leave their homes and work every time a hurricane comes. That is an extra financial strain. Plus the fact, some of those people are probably already out of work due to the Covid mess. Which is another topic altogether.

Some people are still living in a shelter here in Dallas from the storm 6 weeks ago. Plywood over the windows or not, extra food and water besides, their homes were destroyed.

 

[turd]

I live in SE South Dakota. Do you think it might get cold? Do you think we might have snow? Do you think we might have wind? There is no might about it. Anyone that isn't prepared has no business living here. I personally have literally been blown off the interstate twice while driving in icy, windy conditions. I always have a duffle with a blanket, some carbohydrates, flashlight, tow rope, jumper cables, tools, etc. in the back of the Jeep.

The only real might we have involves tornados. And truthfully that is more a matter of how many years will go by until the next one comes close to your specific location. My wife grew up on a farm in north central SD almost 30 miles from the nearest grocery store. The coldest I've ever been was on that farm one Christmas. -38 temp, -85 wind chill. They had two refridgerators, three freezers, etc. 37 years later, wifey makes sure we are well stocked even tho we live in the largest city in the state and have two grocery stores within 2 miles. :mrgreen:

I agree with the OP, I am always amazed that people that live in weather sensitive areas can be so unprepared. What do they do with all the plywood when they come back home and remove it? Don't they keep it until the next storm comes? :shock:

 

[Pat-inCO]

Pat-inCO, I have a sneaky feeling that those folks you 'see' rushing out to prepare that day before a catastrophe are probably not as many as the MEDIA make it look.... Don't forget the MEDIA make their money by showing us BAD/STUPIS things,.... and it's ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.

I suppose those shelves are left empty to create more panic?

However, not everyone is in the same financial position in life.
It's easy to arm-chair judge how others get prepared.

Across MULTIPLE decades?
It's not just those new to the area.

 

[powder smoke]

Self sufficiency has left the building. :roll:

Only for some! Here if you are not prepared Winter can Kill!

Most of us have large supply of fire wood and wood stoves in the basement!
Heat rises don't cha know! No power needed! We stay dry and toasty power or not!

 

[Bull Barrel]

The old BSA motto;
"Be Prepared."

I thought it was, "Have plenty of tools and an extra Zener diode".