Winter Weather: Emergency Preparedness and Recovery

Posted by Carolyn Martin on December 11th, 2025 Posted in: Emergency Preparedness
Tags: disaster preparedness, emergency preparedness, information resources

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Snow and ice can be beautiful and provide conditions that can be enjoyed with tobogganing, snowshoeing, and skating. But sometimes ice and snow can bring strong a winter weather event, bringing a host of conditions such as ice, snow, wind, and extreme cold temperatures. These can make driving dangerous, cause power outages, and interrupt communication lines leading to additional difficult situations.

For some of you in parts of Region 5, communities anticipate and expect dangerous winter weather and for others, this kind of weather is uncommon, and communities may not be as prepared.

Winter Weather Resources

MedlinePlus: Winter Weather Emergencies
MedlinePlus provides links to some excellent resources including:

• Easy-to-Read information from the American Red Cross about winter weather safety
• Keeping children warm and safe during power outages from the American Academy of Pediatrics
• And several links to resources in Spanish

Some additional relevant health topic pages include:

• Frostbite
• Hypothermia

Ready.gov: Winter Weather
Ready.gov is a public service campaign to educate and empower the public to prepare for, respond to and reduce the impact of emergencies and disasters. The information they provide about winter weather includes:

• Definitions of winter weather terms
• Preparedness
• Recognizing symptoms of frostbite and hyperthermia with basic treatment tips
• Generator safety

Additional links (some are videos) include:

• What to do during a blizzard
• What to do if you’re stuck on the road
• How to prepare for winter storm
• Power Outages and Indoor Air Quality
• Social Media Toolkit

CDC: Preparing for a Winter Storm

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention does a nice job of creating a comprehensive webpage without overwhelming. It provides the information important to know regarding:

• Preparing your home for winter weather
• Preparing your car, including an emergency car kit
• What to do before the storm comes
• Links to related pages with additional information

American Red Cross: Winter Storm Safety
Lots of information is available on the American Red Cross website to help prepare ahead along with guidance during and after winter storms. Information regarding older adults, children, people with disabilities, etc. are not specific to winter storms but to the broader topic of disaster planning but are good to include in any emergency situation.

National Weather Service: Winter

In each topic tab, information is displayed in a colorful graphic and a brief amount of text. Topics included are:

• Winter Weather Safety
• Winter Warning, Winter Watch
• Before a Storm
• During a Storm
• After a Storm

You’ll find related information topics are linked on the right side of the screen on topics such as:

• Snow Safety
• Avalanches
• Ice Storms
• Ground Blizzards
• Extreme Cold/Wind Chill

The NNLM has held an annual Disaster Preparedness Forum over the last few years featuring expert speakers presenting data tools and resources, disaster planning communication, and institutional preparedness.  Recorded sessions are available on the NNLM YouTube channel.