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A winter storm or hard freeze is coming: 48-hour checklist

When a Winter Storm Warning, Ice Storm Warning, or Hard Freeze Warning is issued for your area, use this timeline so you do not have to fight crowds at the grocery store or scramble in the dark.

If you only do three things

Charge all phones, power banks, and car jump starters to 100%, and fill your car's gas tank before the storm starts.
Prepare your plumbing (disconnect garden hoses, cover outdoor spigots, know where your main water shutoff valve is).
Pick one small interior room to serve as your family's 'warm room' in case ice or wind knocks out the power grid.

24 to 48 hours before the storm

48-hour preparation tasks

Complete these errands while roads are still dry and stores are open.

Fill your car's gas tank to full (or charge EV to 80–90%)
Pick up any needed prescription medications and baby/pet supplies
Buy 3 to 7 days of food that requires no cooking (bread, peanut butter, canned soup, fruit, nuts)
Withdraw $50–$100 in small cash bills (card readers fail during blackouts)
Test your battery-powered Carbon Monoxide (CO) detector and smoke alarms
Bring snow shovels, ice melt, and your car snow brush inside the house or porch so they aren't frozen under ice outside
Disconnect outdoor garden hoses and install foam faucet covers

The final 6 hours before snow or ice starts

Final 6-hour lockdown tasks

Do these right before temperatures plunge.

Charge all phones, laptops, flashlights, and portable power banks to 100%
Park cars away from large trees and overhead power lines (ice snaps healthy branches easily)
Leave windshield wipers down if heavy wind is forecast, or place a towel over the windshield
Bump your home thermostat up 2–3 degrees before the storm hits so the walls and furniture store extra heat in case power fails
Fill clean pitchers with drinking water and fill one bathtub halfway with water (used with a bucket to flush toilets if pipes freeze)
Open under-sink cabinet doors and start dripping exterior-wall faucets if temperatures will drop below 28°F (-2°C)
Run the dishwasher and laundry now so you don't need water or power during the storm

What to do when power goes out in freezing cold: Keeping one room warm and avoiding carbon monoxide.
Protecting your home and pipes: Interactive pipe freeze calculator and shutoff guide.

Winter expressions mentioned on this page

Hard Freeze Freezing Rain