Are You Prepared for a Winter Weather Emergency?

The greater Cleveland area is prone to a winter weather emergency during the upcoming months, and you should make sure you and your family are prepared in advance. While you can’t predict when you’ll have a power outage during extreme winter weather, there are things you can do to prepare to make them easier to deal with before, during and after the outage.

Before the storm

• Weatherize your home before the winter season begins.
• Be sure to have the necessary supplies on hand, such as flashlights, batteries, drinking water and nonperishable food.
• Bring all animals into the house.
• Make sure all perishable food is in coolers and/or surrounded by ice.
• Have all medications, important documents and an emergency cell phone within reach.

During the storm

• When the power goes out, turn off and disconnect everything that was being used, such as electronics.
• Unplug all electronics that are not essential during the storm.
• Try not to open the freezer and refrigerator if possible.

After the storm

• Report any electrical lines that are down and get outage assistance by phone.
• Dispose of any food that’s unsafe to eat.
• Be careful when venturing out after the storm, as there may be downed power lines. Don’t risk electrocution by touching dangling power lines.

For more information about being prepared for a winter weather emergency, contact the experts at Stack Heating & Cooling. We’ve been serving the greater Cleveland area since 1976.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about winter weather emergencies and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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