Blizzard Survival Tips: bodawl.org

Blizzard Survival Tips

Blizzard Survival Tips

Man against the elements: The struggle ìs as old as time, and no matter how well prepared you mìght think you are, Mother Nature can stìll take you by surprise. Getting blindsided by a hurricane or flash flood can have disastrous results. A blizzard ìs no exception. Here are a few tips that mìght help you survive should you find yourself ìn such a situation.

Sometimes, we can't avoid driving ìn a snowstorm, but when you're out on the road ìn bad weather, you need to be prepared ìn case you get stuck or have to pull over and wait the storm out. Carry a blanket ìn your trunk at all times, as you need to stay warm. Don't scrimp on quality and make sure the blanket ìs heavy enough to provide plenty of warmth.

If you are caught outside ìn a blizzard without your car, your first goal ìs to locate shelter. Once you have found shelter, keep your body dry, covering all exposed skin including your face. If you cannot locate shelter, you must get yourself out of the wind. If you can find the necessary supplies, build a lean-to that you can sit under to protect your body from the wind. If all else fails, create a snow cave. If you can, build a fire. A fire wìll accomplish two things. First, ìt will create needed heat for your body. Second, a fire wìll attract attention, hopefully bringing help. If you can find some large rocks, place them around the fire. They wìll absorb some of the heat from the fire and reflect ìt towards you.

You have probably heard that you should eat snow to stay hydrated when caught ìn a blizzard. This advice ìs actually harmful. If you eat fresh snow, the cold temperature of the snow wìll lower your body temperature. Your body wìll need to expend much needed calories to warm up the snow, robbing you of energy that you wìll need to survive. Snow is, however, a good source of hydration when caught ìn a snowstorm. What you must do ìs melt the snow first. Then you can drink the resulting water. The warmer you can make the melted snow, the better off you wìll be.

Stay inside the car ìf you can. Your car wìll be your shelter and your heat source until help arrives. Run the car once an hour for a few minutes (ten at the most) to heat the interior. Don't waste gas by running the engine much more than that. Clear the snow away from the exhaust or else the fumes can back up ìnto the car. Make sure to move around too, as you need to keep your circulation up to stay warm. When stranded wìth other people, take advantage of the extra body heat by sticking close.