Preparing for the Storm

A major winter storm is expected to hit andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t north-dakotaandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt North Dakotaandamp lt aandamp gt this weekend with near blizzard conditions and deadly wind chills Weather like this can be some of the hardest weather to handle especially if the power is knocked out and the roads are filled in Tonight andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t shaun-sipmaandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Shaun Sipmaandamp lt aandamp gt reports on what it means to be ready if mother nature hits us with the worst Winter Weather in North Dakota can be brutal At it s worst it can be deadly Being ready for the worst means more than just a winter survival kit in a car it means having your home ready in case the power goes out Al Reynolds andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t ward-county-ndandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Ward Countyandamp lt aandamp gt Emergency Manager andamp quot That s one of our biggest fears locally Ward County Emergency Manager Al Reynolds says the local power companies are quick to respond to power outages but there have been instances in the not too distance past where mother nature was simple too much Al Reynolds Ward County Emergency Manager andamp quot Which is what happened in 2005 when we had the snow disaster Tree limbs came down and normally when you get that heavy of snow it s warmer outside and that s what s what happened we got lucky that time Becuase we had 600 to 800 people without power for two or three days Reynolds says if it had been colder like what s being forecast for this weekend there would have been a real problem Because of that Emergency managers everywhere urge everyone to be ready for the worst case scenario Al Reynolds Ward County Emergency Manager andamp quot Have a kit in your home and that is have two or three days of food Have a gallon of water per person per day on hand At least that much Another thing is if possible have an alternate source of heat Reynolds says says that could be anything from a fireplace to space heaters that don t use electricity But with that ventilation is critical and have carbon monixide detectors in your house Or Reynolds says a backup generation can be utilized to run your furance while the main power is out Al Reynolds Ward County Emergency Manager andamp quot A lot of people have their houses wired so they can plug a generator into the ouside of the house Then they have a few outlets that work Mitch Craft Acme Electric andamp quot Le ts say you want to leave your lights on and want the furnace to run then you woudln t need a whole home backup system Craft says work would need to be done before hand by an electician A typicall 3000 watt generator will run between 8 and 12 hours depending on how much electricity you re using Mitch Craft Acme Electric You can get a load tester to find out the amperate or watts you re going to draw to find out how much of a generator you ll need The issue many people run into is they don t think about being ready until it s too late and the storm is already on top of them Having plans in place means whether the storm and not having to make quick rash decisions when the elements are at their worst