How to Prepare for a Blizzard Before It Hits

Preparing for a blizzard comes down to a few days of focused action before the storm arrives, and getting the sequence right matters more than most people realize. The biggest threats from blizzards are not the snow itself but what follows: prolonged power outages, carbon monoxide poisoning from improvised heating, burst pipes, and cardiac events from overexertion. Most blizzard deaths and hospitalizations are preventable with preparation that takes a weekend afternoon and a modest budget.

Build a Supply Stockpile That Matches What Cold Actually Demands

The standard emergency advice is three days of food and water per person, but blizzards can knock out power and road access for a week or more, so aiming for five to seven days is more realistic. Water is the priority: one gallon per person per day for drinking and basic hygiene, stored in sealed containers. If you rely on a well pump, your water supply disappears the moment the electricity does, so filling bathtubs and extra containers before the storm is not paranoia but planning.

Your body burns significantly more calories in cold conditions than you might expect. Working or even just staying warm in a cold environment increases metabolic demand because of thermoregulation, heavier clothing, and breathing cold air. Research on energy expenditure in cold environments has found that the combination of low temperatures, wind, and wet conditions increases overall metabolic strain considerably, raising the risk of negative energy balance, dehydration, and drops in both physical and mental performance.

1PubMed Central. Energy expenditure during physical work in cold environments: physiology and performance considerations for military service members

Stock calorie-dense foods that do not require cooking or refrigeration: peanut butter, crackers, granola bars, canned beans, dried fruit, nuts. If you have a gas stove, canned soups and stews are solid options, but do not count on being able to cook. Dehydration is sneaky in winter because cold air suppresses the thirst response even as dry indoor heating pulls moisture from your body. Keep water accessible and drink it on schedule, not just when you feel thirsty.

Medications deserve the same attention as food. If anyone in your household takes daily prescriptions, make sure you have at least a week’s supply on hand before the storm. Pharmacies may be closed for days, and even after roads reopen, supply chains can lag behind. This applies especially to insulin, blood pressure medications, and any drug where missing doses carries immediate consequences.

The Generator Trap

Portable generators are the single most dangerous piece of blizzard equipment people bring into their homes. Carbon monoxide poisoning consistently spikes after major winter storms, and generators are the overwhelming cause. A national review of disaster-related CO poisoning found that generators were the primary exposure source in about 83% of fatal cases and 54% of nonfatal cases, with roughly two-thirds of the fatal incidents caused by running a generator indoors.

2PubMed Central. A review of disaster-related carbon monoxide poisoning: surveillance, epidemiology, and opportunities for prevention

The pattern repeats with grim regularity after every major ice storm and blizzard. After a 1998 ice storm in Maine, investigators identified 100 CO poisoning cases across 42 separate exposure incidents in the weeks that followed. Gasoline-powered generators were the source in 30 of those incidents, with kerosene and propane heaters accounting for most of the rest. About a third of households in the affected community used a generator after the storm, and the strongest risk factor for poisoning was placing the generator in a basement or attached garage.

3PubMed. An outbreak of carbon monoxide poisoning after a major ice storm in Maine

A 2009 Kentucky ice storm produced an even larger toll: 144 CO poisoning cases in just two weeks, along with over 200 emergency department visits, 26 hospital admissions, and 10 deaths. Eight of those deaths were linked to generators run in inappropriate locations.

4PubMed Central. Carbon monoxide poisoning after an ice storm in Kentucky, 2009

The preparation rule is simple and non-negotiable: if you own a generator, the only safe place for it is outdoors, at least 20 feet from any window, door, or vent, with the exhaust pointing away from the house. Never run one in a garage, even with the door open. Before the blizzard arrives, test your generator, make sure you have enough fuel stored safely in an approved container, and identify where outside you will place it. Buy a battery-operated CO detector for every sleeping area if you do not already have one, and put fresh batteries in it now. CO is odorless and colorless, and by the time symptoms set in, people are often too confused to save themselves.

The same caution extends to kerosene heaters, propane camping stoves, and charcoal grills. None of these belong indoors during a power outage. People underestimate how quickly CO builds up in an enclosed space.

5PubMed Central. Storm-Related Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: An Investigation of Target Audience Knowledge and Risk Behaviors

Prevent Frozen and Burst Pipes

Pipe bursting is one of the most expensive consequences of a blizzard, and there is a common misconception about how it works. Many people assume a pipe bursts at the exact point where ice forms, as if the expanding ice cracks the pipe wall right there. In reality, the physics is more complicated. When ice forms inside a pipe, it can create a plug that traps water between the ice blockage and a closed faucet. As the ice expands, it pressurizes that trapped water column, and the pipe fails at its weakest point downstream of the ice, sometimes far from the actual frozen section.

6Elsevier. Freezing phenomena in ice–water systems – Section: Abstract

Understanding this changes what you should do. The classic advice to let faucets drip during extreme cold works precisely because it relieves that trapped pressure. Even a slow trickle keeps water moving and prevents the pressure buildup that actually causes the burst. Before the blizzard hits, take these steps:

  • Insulate exposed pipes: Any pipe running through an unheated space like a crawl space, attic, or exterior wall is at risk. Foam pipe insulation is cheap and takes minutes to install.
  • Disconnect outdoor hoses: A garden hose left attached can trap water in the outdoor spigot and the pipe behind it. Disconnect hoses, drain the lines, and shut off interior valves leading to outdoor faucets if your plumbing allows it.
  • Know your main shutoff: If a pipe does burst after the storm, you need to stop the water fast. Find your main water shutoff valve now and make sure it turns freely. Tag it so anyone in the household can find it.
  • Open cabinet doors: During the storm, open the cabinets under kitchen and bathroom sinks on exterior walls to let warm air circulate around the pipes.

If you lose power during the blizzard and the house temperature drops significantly, the dripping-faucet strategy becomes even more important, because the house itself is no longer providing any warmth to the pipes inside the walls.

Plan for a Multi-Day Power Outage

The defining feature of a blizzard is not the snow volume but the sustained high winds and low visibility, and those winds bring down power lines. Outages lasting eight hours or more are common, and in severe events, restoration can take days. Power outages cause a cascade of health consequences beyond the obvious cold exposure. A review of the medical literature found that outages are linked to CO poisoning, temperature-related illness, gastrointestinal illness, and increased hospitalizations for cardiovascular, respiratory, and kidney disease.

7PubMed Central. Power Outages and Community Health: a Narrative Review

Gastrointestinal illness spikes because food spoils when refrigeration fails and people eat it anyway. A simple preparation step: fill resealable bags with water and freeze them before the storm. A freezer full of ice stays cold much longer than an empty one, and the bags double as an emergency water supply as they melt. If the power goes out, keep the fridge and freezer doors closed as much as possible. A full freezer holds its temperature for roughly 48 hours if you leave it shut.

Charge all phones, tablets, and portable battery packs fully before the storm. A car charger and a hand-crank or battery-powered radio are worth having. Your phone is both your communication lifeline and your access to weather updates, and a dead battery during a multi-day outage can turn an inconvenience into an emergency.

People Who Depend on Powered Medical Equipment

For anyone in the household who uses electricity-dependent medical devices, such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines, or home dialysis equipment, preparation is not optional. Research has found that typical battery life for equipment like portable oxygen concentrators can be as short as three to four hours on the lowest settings. A study in Michigan found that only about a quarter of older adults relying on essential powered medical equipment had an alternative power source ready.

8Nature Communications. Spatiotemporal distribution of power outages with climate events and social vulnerability in the USA

Before the blizzard, contact your utility company and register as a life-support customer if you have not already. Many utilities prioritize restoration for these households. Charge all device batteries fully, and if a backup battery pack exists for your equipment, make sure it is ready. Have a plan for where you will go if the power stays out longer than your backup lasts: a friend or family member with power, a hospital, or a community warming shelter. Know the route and have someone who can transport you, because roads may not be passable for days.

Perceived preparedness for outages is notably low among households with a medical-equipment user. Survey data from New York City showed that only about 32% of households with an electricity-dependent member felt prepared for an outage, compared to 47% of those without one.

8Nature Communications. Spatiotemporal distribution of power outages with climate events and social vulnerability in the USA

Snow Shoveling Is Harder on Your Heart Than You Think

After the blizzard passes, one of the first things people do is grab a shovel. This is the phase that sends a surprising number of people to the hospital. A study measuring the cardiac demands of heavy snow shoveling found that heart rate during the activity averaged about 85% of a person’s maximal heart rate within two minutes and climbed to roughly 97% by ten minutes. Systolic blood pressure during shoveling reached an average of about 198 mmHg, which was higher than the pressure recorded during maximal treadmill testing in the same subjects.

9JAMA. Cardiac Demands of Heavy Snow Shoveling

In practical terms, heavy snow shoveling pushes the cardiovascular system as hard as an all-out exercise stress test. For sedentary adults, people with high blood pressure, or anyone with known heart disease, this level of sudden exertion in cold air is genuinely dangerous. Cold air itself constricts blood vessels, which adds to the workload. Winter health research has identified snow removal as a significant contributor to injuries and fatalities beyond what most people associate with winter storms.

10Geography Compass. Beyond “Snow Shoveler’s Infarction”: Broadening perspectives on winter health risks

The preparation angle: before the blizzard, make sure you have a plan for snow removal that does not depend entirely on manual shoveling. A snow blower, a neighbor with a plow, or a hired service are all worth arranging in advance. If you are going to shovel, take breaks every 10 to 15 minutes, push the snow rather than lifting it, and stop immediately if you feel chest tightness, lightheadedness, or unusual shortness of breath. Do not shovel first thing in the morning, when cardiac risk is highest. And do not drink alcohol beforehand, which dilates blood vessels and masks warning signals from your body.

Dress for Wind, Not Just Temperature

By definition, a blizzard involves sustained winds of at least 35 miles per hour with visibility below a quarter mile for at least three hours. That wind is not just an inconvenience; it fundamentally changes how quickly your body loses heat. Research on windchill and tissue freezing has found that the effect of wind speed on skin cooling is even more severe than the old windchill index suggested, meaning the classic windchill charts people grew up with actually underestimated the frostbite risk at high wind speeds.

11PubMed. Windchill and the risk of tissue freezing

Exposed skin can freeze in minutes under blizzard conditions. Before the storm, make sure everyone in the household has layered cold-weather clothing readily accessible, not packed in a basement bin. The essentials: a moisture-wicking base layer, an insulating middle layer, and a windproof outer layer. Insulated waterproof boots, heavy gloves or mittens (mittens are warmer because your fingers share heat), a balaclava or face covering, and ski goggles or wraparound glasses to protect against blowing snow. If you have to go outside during or after the storm, covering every inch of skin exposed to wind is not excessive. It is basic frostbite prevention.

Keep a similar set of gear in your car along with blankets, a flashlight, non-perishable snacks, and a phone charger. If you get stranded, staying in the car with the engine running intermittently for heat is generally safer than walking. Just make sure the tailpipe stays clear of snow to avoid CO buildup inside the vehicle.

Mental Health During and After the Storm

Blizzards can confine people to their homes for days, and the psychological toll of that isolation is real and underappreciated. Research examining the mental health aftermath of Winter Storm Uri in Texas found that cold-weather disasters worsen anxiety and depression partly because they trap people inside, increasing social isolation and missed work, which compounds financial stress.

12PubMed Central. Anxiety and Depression after Winter Storm Uri: Cascading Disasters and Mental Health Inequities

Preparation helps here too, and it is more practical than it sounds. Before the storm, make sure you have activities and entertainment that do not require electricity or internet: books, board games, card decks, art supplies for kids. Charge a tablet and download movies or shows. If you live alone, set up a check-in schedule with a friend, neighbor, or family member before the storm so someone knows you are okay and you have regular human contact. For people already managing anxiety or depression, the combination of cold, darkness, isolation, and uncertainty can be an acute trigger. Having a plan, even a simple one, for how you will spend the days reduces the feeling of helplessness that makes confinement worse.

Where Blizzards Are Most and Least Common

Not everyone faces equal blizzard risk, and knowing whether your area is blizzard-prone affects how much permanent preparation is worth investing in versus storm-specific scrambling. An analysis of historical blizzard data across the contiguous United States found that the Northern Plains, including North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota, had the most blizzard activity over a 25-year period. The study also found no significant trend in blizzard occurrence in those regions, meaning the risk has been relatively stable rather than increasing or decreasing.

13Environmental Research Letters. Investigating the occurrence of blizzard events over the contiguous United States using observations and climate projections

If you live in one of these high-frequency zones, permanent preparation makes sense: a well-maintained generator with a dedicated outdoor setup, insulated pipes, a deep pantry rotation, and snow-removal equipment that does not depend on your cardiovascular fitness. If you live in a region where blizzards are rare, such as parts of the Southeast or mid-Atlantic, you face a different kind of risk. Communities unaccustomed to extreme winter storms tend to have less robust infrastructure, fewer plows, and residents who are less practiced at cold-weather preparation. The Texas power crisis during Winter Storm Uri in 2021 demonstrated how devastating a blizzard-like event can be in a region that is not built for one. In those settings, even modest advance preparation, keeping extra blankets, filling the car’s gas tank, and knowing where the nearest warming shelter is, can make a disproportionate difference.

The Pre-Storm Checklist

Pulling together the practical steps into a rough sequence of what to do when a blizzard watch is issued, usually 24 to 48 hours before the storm:

  • Fuel up: Fill your car’s gas tank and any approved fuel containers for a generator. Gas stations may lose power or run dry during the storm.
  • Charge everything: Phones, tablets, portable batteries, medical device batteries, laptop.
  • Water reserves: Fill bathtubs, large containers, and extra bottles. Freeze bags of water for the freezer.
  • Food check: Stock five to seven days of no-cook, calorie-dense food. Do not rely on a freezer you may not be able to open.
  • Medications: Confirm you have at least a week’s supply of all daily prescriptions.
  • Pipe prep: Insulate exposed pipes, disconnect outdoor hoses, locate the main shutoff valve.
  • Generator placement: Identify the outdoor location, run a test, confirm CO detectors have fresh batteries.
  • Cold-weather gear: Pull out layered clothing, boots, gloves, and face protection for every household member. Pack a car kit.
  • Snow removal plan: Arrange mechanical help or a neighbor swap if you cannot safely shovel.
  • Communication plan: Exchange check-in schedules with neighbors and family. Know the location of the nearest warming shelter.

Most of this takes an afternoon, and almost none of it is expensive. The gap between people who get through a blizzard comfortably and those who end up in an emergency room is usually not money or luck. It is the 48 hours before the storm hits.