Some parts of the country are already up to their knees in snow, but the mid-Atlantic region is just now remembering that it’s December. North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue is reminding residents to get ready for the upcoming winter season, according to WECT in Wilmington:
“While we’ve been fortunate with fairly mild winters in recent years, we shouldn’t become complacent,” said Perdue. “People should take time now to update their family emergency plans and stock up on water, blankets, non-perishable food and other supplies now before ice and snow arrive.”
There’s a good checklist on this page to go through, in order to make sure that you and your family are ready for the winter season. One thing that always jumps out when I see these lists is the advice to store lots of extra batteries in the car – during the winter. If you follow that advice, and stock up on plenty of batteries for a radio, flashlight, etc., you should know that batteries don’t function very well in extremely low temperatures. The cold does help extend the shelf life of a battery (storing them in the fridge is a good idea), but in order to get a full charge out of them, they need to be warmed up before using them. Room temperature is best, but that’s not really an option if you’re stuck in a snow bank.
Having extra batteries is a great idea, but if you get stuck in an emergency winter situation, have a plan or method in place to warm them up before using them – otherwise they’ll fizzle out in a hurry.
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