Are You Ready for Winter?

The Vancouver area had strong wind Tuesday night and throughout the day Wednesday (15 MPH with gusts up to 26 MPH). Although winter technically does not begin for another six weeks, it's not too early to start preparing for winter storms. Both the Farmer's Almanac and meteorologists and predicting above-average snowfalls in the Pacific NW this year. Here are a few suggestions for preparing an emergency kit, in case snow/ice/power outages make it difficult to get out of the house:

• Have enough supplies for 3 days. This includes non-perishable food (don't forget the can opener!) and at least one gallon of water, per-person/per-day.
• Keep a radio in the house, with extra batteries, to get the latest news/weather reports.
• If the power is out, ATM's may not work, so keep some cash on hand as well.
• Remember the pets! Keep a supply of food and water for them, too.
• Put some personal hygiene items in your emergency kit. You don't want to be stuck in the house for three days with no soap and no toothpaste.

Get a complete checklist for your emergency kit from http://www.govlink.org/storm/prepare.asp.