If you never lived where it snows and were moving North to where it does snow, what would you have liked to have known? What would you do to prepare?
It’s ok to eat a bit more nutritious food when it’s cold - your natural body heating costs energy.
Cover your head when outside, your head loses an unreasonable amount of heat.
If your bed’s too cold in the evening, buy a heating pad - a warm bed feels awsome.
If your hands get painfully cold, more excruciating pain may be waiting for you when they start to heat back up. To avoid the additional pain, put your hands under cold tap water first - I promise it’s going to feel warm. Then increase the heat slowly until your hands are warm again.
An electric blanket is one of the best ways to warm up when you’re “chilled to the bone”. Layer them between normal blankets to make the most of the heat and keep them clean, and you can get whole body heat for a tenth the cost of even a little space heater.
Get a scraper/brush and keep it in your car.
Use it before you start driving. Don’t just clear a “porthole” to see out of. Clear the snow off the roof too. If you don’t it’ll fly off and hit the guy behind you or it’ll slide down over your windshield.
If you don’t have your scraper, a credit card will work in a pinch for the windshield.
Don’t pour hot water over your windshield to melt ice. At best it just doesn’t work, at worst you’ll crack the windshield
If you’re new to driving on icy/snowy roads, get a sense for how/when your car will break traction. Find an empty parking lot, accelerate a bit and then brake increasingly harder until you start to slide. This will give you a feel for the conditions under which you’ll lose traction to brake. This is also a good way to learn how to recover from a slide.
I’ve got a spray bottle filled with windshield wiper fluid I sometimes use to “pre-treat” an icy windshield before I get to scraping it, it’s often able to loosen the ice’s grip on the glass so the scraper can just lift it off. Simpler and more controllable than relying on the built-in windshield sprayers.
A one-handed garden pick is a nice tool to have handy if you find your car’s wheels stuck in some hard-packed snow or ice. Don’t spin your wheels fruitlessly, the friction is just making the ice slicker and harder. Use the garden pick to dig the wheels out instead, creating a rough surface to get some initial traction on. There are also traction plates or mats that you can stick in there to help get moving, though you need to be able to move the car far enough to get them caught under the wheels for them to work.
Make sure your car battery is in good condition. Cold weather will reduce its power output, so if your car’s going to fail to start it’ll be in the dead of winter when that happens. For peace of mind I bought one of those battery booster packs that you can use to jump-start a car with and I really like it, it’s got a built-in air pump, USB charger, and light source as well and I’ve used it for all of those things now and then. Wasn’t very expensive.
Stash a warm hat and a pair of warm mittens in the car somewhere. If you end up stranded on a roadside you won’t have known ahead of time that you were going to be stranded so you might not have brought adequate clothing with you. A flashlight, too. In northern latitudes there’s a lot of darkness during winter time.
If your state salts the roads in the winter, it’s strongly recommended to undercoat your vehicle with a coating to preserve it from rusting and shortening its useful life. Fluid Film is one of the better coatings, and is based on sheep lanolin, so it’s not toxic to the environment.
4wheel drive is nice, but tires are EVERYTHING. You absolutely cannot rely on all season tires, you MUST get proper Winter tires if your region snows heavily, or you will have a bad time.
There are now fabric snow ‘socks’ for cars that act like snow chains to get you out if a bind, which would be worth having in the trunk.
In the winter, ALWAYS bring winter rated clothing in the car along with water, a small amount of food, heavy duty blanket, and a small liquid paraffin candle for heat in the event you get stuck in a storm, or go off the road from ice.
I live at 2000m altitude
I had a problem with skin on the tops of my knees drying out and flaking, it was quite painful
Turned out it was the antiperspirant I was using on my armpits got on my knees when I bent over to put my socks on and dried out the skin 😂
Stopping takes longer. Drive slower; leave more space to stop.
You’d think it’s common sense, but a huge number of the accidents in winter are because people drive like idiots.
Conditions change rapidly too. A cloud can cause everything to ice over instantly. You might have stopped fine every other time, but it takes a single unexpected slide to change lives forever.
I moved to a snow city for the first time well into adulthood.
The big thing I have for you is that walking on snow is awesome for like two hours and then it’s constantly threatening to kill you. Slippery sludge or ice is the worst feeling in the universe and all the locals will just strut right over it like it’s nothing while you’re fighting for your life.
Just buy good shoes and plant your feet vertically, no sliding motions.
Planting one’s feet vertically is a skill that takes a while to develop.
Crampons help.
Clothing
- Make sure to have a good winter coat, neck gaiter, hat, gloves and boots. Staying warm and dry is important.
- Hand warmers can be handy if you expect to be outside for a while. There are several variants (chemical, reusable, rechargeable)
Driving
- Winter tires. It may seems like an extra expense, but it will make your summer/all-season tires lasts longer. In some provinces, they are mandatory for residents (ex: Quebec)
- Make sure to clear the snow from the car, INCLUDING the roof (aka don’t leave a snowhawk). Keep that snow brush in the trunk.
- Make sure to keep your windshield washer fuild filled.
- Have a small snow shovel just in case you get stuck in snow.
- Keep one of those metallic safety blanket, and those emergency candle in case you get in an emergency.
- A car battery booster might come in handy. A drained battery isn’t fun.
- Drice defensively, it’s easier to lose control of the vehicle.
Homeowner
- A good shovel to clear out the driveway isn’t a luxury
- Some sand in a bucket with a lid, to put over ice patches when it gets slippery. You don’t need to put a lot, just enough to not fall.
- Be sure to keep the temperature above 18°C. If the temp inside the building drops too low, ice can form in water pipes, and you can imagine the mess it can make when a pipe bursts.
It’s four wheel drive not four wheel stop.
Before it gets cold, turn off your outdoor spigots from the inside. If you have ducted air, change the filter every few months. If you have a furnace or boiler, be sure to have a carbon monoxide detector in addition to regular smoke detectors.
Yeah this is a great guide, especially for clothing.
- I would add keeping a jug of sand or cat litter along with a couple 12"+ 2x4s in the vehicle to help with getting some traction if you or someone else ends up stuck.
- i dunno about EVs but if you’ve got an ICE vehicle give it a minute or two of just idling and warming up before going anywhere
- When I start driving on snow I tap the brakes a couple times if nobody’s around just to get a feel for how good my traction is. Am I sliding a little bit? A lot? Not at all? That helps set the tone for what to expect on the roads.
- Don’t accelerate through turns if you’ve already got momentum, and if the weather’s REALLY suspect I prefer to coast on overpasses as well since those ice over first.
- Respect the possibility of black ice. If you live in a mountainous area then assume anywhere in the shade is black ice
- If the house is on a crawlspace make sure any ductwork and copper piping are properly Insulated, keep the crawlspace vents closed during the cold months.
- Use ice melt sparingly if you have to use it at all (sand is preferable) because it’s caustic to concrete.
- if you’re somewhere that gets an absolutely stupid amount of snow, follow your neighbors’ lead if you see them shoveling snow off their roofs. I saw a lot of roof collapses in a luxury mountain town where rich people’s second (third? Fourth? Ninth?) homes were left vacant during a pretty nasty snowstorm
Make sure to keep your windshield washer fluid filled.
and make sure it’s winter grade fluid (rated for freezing temps)!
I once had summer stuff in there (doesn’t smell as bad because no anti-freeze) and as soon as I turned the wiper spray on the whole window froze over and I couldn’t see shit while I was driving.
scary shit!We had to make an emergency trip to Quebec in January 2022 because of health issues with the in-laws. Father-in-law advised to get the stuff rated to -20°F, but it wasn’t available where we live and I’d gotten the car serviced before we hit the road and they filled the washer fluid with what they had, I’m guessing 0°F. I bought some -20°F in Buffalo but didn’t have room to add any. The temperature was rapidly dropping as we headed farther north and as we neared Watertown, NY the fluid wasn’t spraying well. I tried adding what I could of the -20°F but by the time we stopped east of Montreal that night it was -45°F and the whole system had frozen solid. Tried using a hairdryer at the hotel, but we couldn’t melt it until we got it in the in-laws garage. Without fluid running the wipers can mean just smearing crud across your windshield, making it impossible to see.
Now I always make sure whenever we leave Quebec that I have a bottle of -49°F rated fluid and fill the reservoir at home before heading up in the winter. If there’s a lot of warmer-rated fluid in the car I’ll actually siphon it out.
good advice! I didn’t even think about the whole system freezing.
and if you’re going a place that cold also get a (fresh) heavy duty battery. ours had trouble starting the car when it was -35F also in Montreal
18°c is uncalled for though? Above 12 should be fine
18°C is recommended, especially for uninsulated pipes and where the ambient heat may have trouble reaching, as these spots may get colder.
More importantly, check your home insurance coverage policy, some will set a minimum temperature to maintain to be covered, with some exemptions in case of a power outage and other things outside of your control.
Look at Dr Money over here, anything above 0°C will keep the pipes from freezing and is technically survivable
I’d go somewhere in-between to keep things dry.
Condensation around windows and outer walls make great growing grounds for mold. 15°C is the recommendation here.
Shit can happen. Boilers break. Leave your faucets dripping and run your circulation pump off of a battery and inverter to save your pipes.
If you have gas motor equipment in your garage (mower, snowplow, leafblower, boat), you should try to winterize it with specific stabilizers, otherwise you will have a hard time starting it in the spring.
Wear layers, layers, layers and a proper winter jacket on top. Winter mittens or gloves, a hat, scarf, neck warmer, balaclava or face covering, ear muffs, snow pants, could all be stuff you need depending on how far north you go and how thick the snow piles up. Almost universally in cold climates you will need proper boots.
Similar to Humidex, there’s a value called wind chill, because the layer of heat you radiate gets blown away making you feel colder. Pay attention to that, and remember that hands and ears left exposed will get frostbite after some time. You can find charts online (Celsius and Fahrenheit).
Watch for black ice on roads and sidewalks, it looks just “wet” but it is very slippery ice. Use road salt or other de-icing compounds on your walkways and driveways so that you and others don’t slide around or fall.
A bunch of driving stuff:
Do NOT go posted speed on roads that aren’t fully cleared. In reduced visibility conditions like blizzards you might have to go half the usual freeway speed or less, with flashers on and follow the car in front. It’s best to avoid driving in snowstorms.
Winter tires may be required in some areas, but they are strongly recommended even if not. Leave a safety kit and brush in the car, because in remote areas it may be an entire day before a tow can even get to you. Have blankets in the car in winter.
Test recovery out of a slide in a safe place so you know what to do in a pinch. You don’t have to go too fast, just somewhere that doesn’t get cleared well with no obstacles to crash into like a rarely cleared parking lot. Two modes are: brake fail going straight (with my old car you needed to be light but steady on the brakes for best effectiveness), and a turn going wider than you expected. The car will not respond to sudden maneuvers like you would expect on a clear surface.
Bridges ice up before roadways. When driving across a bridge, even if the roads are okay, be really cautious.
In warmer weather, mind the geese. They’re really fucking aggressive!
Regularly go through a car wash WITH UNDERCARRIAGE CLEANING or your car will be ruined by the road salt and rust.
Find a snow brush long enough to reach every part of your vehicle, buy two; keep one inside your home and one in the vehicle at all times until the weather is consistently above 50f.
You can be pulled over in places for not completely clearing snow off your vehicle; it will fly off in chunks that can smash windshields of others.
Dress warmly, but not so warm as to sweat. Sweat is moisture, moisture freezes, you’ll be colder than if you had dressed lighter. Multiple thinner layers, with a moisture wicking innermost layer to keep it off your skin.
Everywhere will absolutely blast the heater in every office and store, so if you’re going to be outside very little, probably best to leave the heavy coat in the car.
Winter Cycling Tips:
Studded tires make riding a bicycle on ice much safer. The front one insures you won’t fall on your face, the rear one helps give you enough traction to move forward.
Full coverage fenders will keep your bike significantly cleaner, which means it corrode far less. And they keep snow/slush/water from flying up at you too.
Cold drains batteries much quicker. Consider getting a dynamo lighting setup so you don’t have to rely on batteries.
Your body generates a significant amount of heat while cycling, so it is best to dress so you will be somewhat cold the first mile or two, then you are more likely to be comfortable for the rest of the ride.
I would have liked to know if it snows so that I won’t move there
Watch out where the huskies go.
Don’t you eat that yellow snow.
Snowshoeing is super fun. Snowboarding is rad. Fatbiking is awesome. Get the right clothing and gear to enjoy the season.
Special care has to be taken in whatever house you live in to protect your plumbing from freezing. Generally most places in snow zones will be built with freeze protection in mind so you won’t need to do too much. But exposed faucets (even frost free types) can freeze and burst back inside your walls, as can any other exposed pipe, or even those not exposed if your house loses it’s source of heat. A burst pipe floods everything and will ruin your house.
- Cover any exposed faucets with a foam cover (any hardware store will have them)
- Never let the inside of your house drop below 55F/12C; that internal heat seeps into the walls and floor and is what keeps your plumbing working.
- Check if the house has a crawlspace that requires additional heating to prevent freezing, and make sure any pipes in said crawlspace are fully insulated with foam tape and ideally have “pipe tape” or cable heaters under the insulation and plugged in.
- If you’re in an area that relies on ground water wells rather than a city supply, you may also have a pump house outbuilding that requires heating.
- A chicken brooder lamp like this with a 100w incandescent lightbulb or 250w infrared heat lamp (depending on level of insulation and outside temperatures) in it is the best way to safely heat these small spaces with minimal fire risk.
Additional prep should be taken to make sure you can maintain house heat even if the power goes out for an extended period of time due to snowfall taking out trees onto power lines. Should have some form of non electric heat that can be used indoors safely, e.g a wood stove, or have a generator with at least 24hr of reserve fuel that can run your furnace for a few hours at a time (assuming propane or oil furnace, and not a heat pump or electric resistive furnace).
