Staying Safe in Extreme Cold

The best way to stay safe during extreme cold is to be prepared and stay indoors! To protect yourself and your family during extreme cold, follow these safety tips:

For Yourself and Loved Ones 

• Stay inside. When possible, stay indoors.
• Limit outdoor time for pets. Extreme cold is dangerous for animals too.
• Dress in layers. If you have to go out or if you work outside, dress in several loose-fitting layers. Wear a hat, mittens, and snow boots. Use a scarf to cover your mouth and face.
• Know the signs and symptoms of frostbite and hypothermia. 
  • Hypothermia: Warning signs include shivering, exhaustion, confusion, and slurred speech, and symptoms can look similar to intoxication. Call 911 if someone is exposed to cold temperatures and you see these symptoms.
  • Frostbite: At the first signs of discoloration or pain in any skin area, get out of the cold or protect any exposed skin—frostbite may be beginning.
• Check on your friends, family, and neighbors. Give loved ones a call or text to make sure they're warm and safe. People most likely to be hurt from the cold are older adults, babies, people who spend lots of time outside (e.g., people who work outdoors, people who are unhoused, hunters), and people who drink alcohol or use drugs. 

For Your Home

• Stock a home emergency kit. Your home kit should include items such as food and water, cell phone and charger, flashlight and batteries, first aid kit, important medications, a weather radio, and a change of clothes. Visit Ready Wisconsin for more items and tips.
• Prevent frozen pipes. The Red Cross has tips for preventing and thawing frozen pipes.
• Plan ahead for possible power outages. 
  • Plan for your medications. If you have a medication that needs to stay below a certain temperature, you need to plan ahead. For refrigerated medication, only open your refrigerator when necessary to keep it cold inside for as long as possible.
  • Make plans if you have medical devices that run on electricity. Consider having a backup power source like a generator. If that isn't possible, then review the device manual and find out how long, if at all, your device will work without electricity and how to make it last longer. Consider registering your medical device with MG&E. This may help inform or prioritize power restoration in areas where many customers rely on medical devices. 
  • During an outage, your refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours, and a full freezer will keep the temperature for about 48 hours. If either reaches a temperature of 40 degrees or higher, the food is no longer safe to eat and should be thrown out. If you're on FoodShare, you may be eligible for replacement benefits if your food that is ruined by power outage or other natural disaster. You'll need to submit a form and provide some evidence of the lost food.
• Make sure you have working carbon monoxide detectors. All homes in Wisconsin are required to have properly working detectors on every level, including the basement, but not the attic or storage areas. Detectors can be purchased at most hardware stores or online for $20-50.
• Never run a gasoline or propane heater or a grill (gas or charcoal) inside your home or garage. Any heating system that burns fuel produces carbon monoxide. Use a battery-powered detector where you have fuel-burning devices but no electric outlets, such as in tents, cabins, and RVs.
• Run generators at a safe distance (at least 20 feet) from the home. Never run a generator in the home or garage, or right next to windows or doors.

For Your Car

Winterize your car. Just as you have a home emergency kit, you need one for your car too. Pack items such as blankets, snacks and water, a shovel, jumper cables, and sand. Visit Ready Wisconsin for more items and tips. Keep your gas tank at least half-full.