Are You Ready For A Major Power Outage? – Series Part 3

Learn what you should have ready in case the lights go out for an extended period

The majority of power outages come in times of temperature stress, i.e., winter or summer, when heating or cooling are drains on the system. They impact you in many ways, some of which are hard to foresee. That’s the bad news. The good news is there are a myriad of ways you can prepare if a massive outage strikes unexpectedly;

Preparation

Grill: If you have a patio grill, get a stovetop kettle if you don’t have one. That will allow you to boil water outside. Never use a generator, grill, camp stove or other gasoline, propane, natural gas or charcoal ­burning devices inside a home, garage, basement, crawlspace or any partially enclosed area. We usually keep a spare full propane tank (although, to be honest, its main purpose is to keep the party going if the previous one runs out while the burgers are on the grill).

Cooler: Get a cheap, large-capacity cooler to store the food caught in the freezer and refrigerator. It’s a good idea to keep a few two-liter bottles filled with water in your freezer — they will keep food cold in a cooler for a long time.

Light: Get a flashlight, candles and lighter (or matches). And be sure to add a supply of batteries. A good option is keeping a half-dozen cheap solar garden stake lights lying around. They’ll charge every day and have enough light to last most of the night. At about $2 per, that’s a cheap, reliable light source.

Trash: Something many people forget is a supply of trash bags and moist towelettes for sanitation needs. If the power outage affects the water supply, you may not have the use of your toilets.

Are You Ready For A Major Power Outage? – Series Part 2

Learn what you should have ready in case the lights go out for an extended period.

The majority of power outages come in times of temperature stress, i.e., winter or summer, when heating or cooling are drains on the system. They impact you in many ways, some of which are hard to foresee. That’s the bad news. The good news is there are a myriad of ways you can prepare if a massive outage strikes unexpectedly;

Preparation

Food: Have at least a week’s worth of dry food rations stored away, especially high-energy foods, like peanut butter, jelly, crackers, granola bars, and trail mix. Also include some comfort/stress foods: cookies, hard candy, sweetened cereals, lollipops, instant (or pre-ground) coffee, tea bags, and a supply of things like salt, pepper, sugar, etc. Keep a good supply of paper or plastic plates and silverware, as well as a roll or two of paper towels. Oh, and don’t forget a manual can opener.

Water: Store at least 1 gallon of bottled water per day per person, plus more for pets, and powdered foods. When power goes out, water purification systems may not be functioning fully, so don’t rely on tap water until the crisis has passed.

Gas: Make it a habit never to let your vehicles’ gas tanks get below half. When a general power outage strikes, gas pumps die because they run on electricity.

Cash: Keep at least a couple hundred dollars in hard cash handy. Everyone selling you something will not have power for cash registers, scanners, and that type of thing. You’ll be dead in the water if all you have is plastic.

Medication: Ask your pharmacist to keep you a month ahead on your prescriptions for this emergency. If someone in your home is dependent on electric-powered, life-sustaining equipment, remember to include backup power in your evacuation plan. If you are on electrically operated life support systems or special equipment for heart or kidney problems, be sure to notify your utility now, in advance of any outages. They will put you on a list and make sure your power needs are provided for first. Oh, and don’t forget the first-aid kit.

Are You Ready For A Major Power Outage? – Series Part 1

Learn what you should have ready in case the lights go out for an extended period.

Have you considered how your life would freeze to a standstill if a general outage cut electric power for more than two or three days? As every summer arrives, it’s a question more and more people ask, because demand for electric power is growing inexorably, and summertime is when the grid always gets strained to the max. Many experts say all it will take is one unusually bad heat wave and a single computer glitch. The last major outage happened in the summer of 2003, and it affected over 55 million people.

Once your cell phone’s battery runs down, how will you recharge it? Think you can run down to the local Starbucks to get some coffee (your coffeemaker is dead, remember) and recharge your laptop, cell phone, tablet, iPod, toothbrush and shaver? Think again. All your neighbors will have descended on that little coffee shop en masse because they’ll be without power too.

Here’s a list of but a few things that go away in the event of a general power outage:

            ·   Lights (obviously)

·     Heat and cooling — even gas heating requires electricity to pump the air

·     Baths and showers — no heat means cold washing (assuming you can get running water)

·     Medical support systems

·     Food storage — refrigerators and freezers

·     Food preparation — microwaves, stoves and ovens (even gas ovens use electricity)

·     Food availability — stores need electricity too

·     Entertainment — television and radio (not to mention video games)

·     Communication — cell towers and Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) exchanges require electricity

·     Gas for your automobile — gas pumps run on electricity

5 Things Everyone Misunderstands About Weather - Series Part 5

After centuries of weather forecasting study and research, the human race knows a thing or two about storms.  We know that hurricanes and typhoons will spin out of the oceans every summer and ravage certain coastlines.  We know that tornadoes will strike thousands of times per year, causing significant localized damage, and we generally know where they will appear and why.  We can even predict which years will bring particularly strong weather patterns and what those patterns will mean for farmers, ranchers and others.

But, the truth is, we don't know everything. At least the general population doesn't. In fact, although there is plenty of meteorological research out there for reference, a wide swath of the population clings to a number of weather myths that, although they sound correct, just aren't true. Earlier this month, AccuWeather.com set out to put some of these weather myths to bed by explaining some of the most widespread and misinformed. Click through this week to  earn fact from fiction.

Myth #5: Lightening doesn't strike the same place twice

Of course it doesn't, right? There is so much space out there for it to strike, why would lightening repeat?  But it does, according to AccuWeather. 
The Empire State Building gets struck repeatedly [on average of 100 times a year]. It all depends on how much an object sticks up in the sky.