An amber weather warning for snow has been put in place by the Met Office this weekend with the weather agency now urging Brits to stockpile a number of items.
Heavy snow is expected to fall across the region on Saturday and Sunday, with disruption expected. As a result, the Met Office has issued advice on what to do in a snowstorm. First, they have offered advice on what to do if you need to drive somewhere. They said you should carefully plan your route and then check for any delays or road closures.
You should leave more time to check your car before you set off, making sure to check your wipers, tyres and screenwash, as well as pack some essentials. These should include an ice scraper, de-icer, a large torch so you don’t have to rely on your phone, a paper road atlas, an in-car phone charger, warm clothes and blankets, high-vis clothing, jump leads, an empty fuel can, food and drink, a shovel, warning triangles and sunglasses.
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While driving you should be cautious and make use of dipped headlights, while making sure to accelerate gently, using low-revs and changing to higher gears as quick as you can. In addition, starting in second gear will help with wheel slip, and you should maintain a safe and steady speed, keeping your distance from other drivers.
The Met Office also says you should keep a constant speed up hills, leaving plenty of room for other drivers, use a low gear to go down hill and avoid breaking unless necessary and you should remember to steer in to any skids, making sure not to take your hands off of the wheel or slam on the breaks.
Stockpile three items
As part of their advice, the Met Office have urged people to stock up on three key things in their homes. These are torches and batteries, candles with matches and lighters and plenty of blankets and warm clothing.
Getting cut off
If you do get cut off, you should keep your thermostat set to one temperature during the day and night, turn off any electrical heaters and put out any fires before going to bed and make sure your pets are comfortable, with warm places to stay in the cold weather. To prevent frozen pies, you should open kitchen and cabinet doors to allow warm air to circulate.
You should also stay indoors, wearing loose fitting lightweight warm clothing rather than bulky clothes. You should not use a hob or oven to heat your home as this can increase carbon monoxide levels. If you need support you can call the British Red Cross Support Line on 0808 196 3651.
Candles, matches and lighters
In case of any powercuts, you should also stock up on candles with matches or lighters, torches and batteries and a mobile phone power pack. If your power does go out, you should switch off all electrical appliances which should not be left unattended, leave a light on so you know when the powercut ends, check to see if your neighbours are safe and if they have a powercut too to make sure it is not your fusebox and wrap up warm, closing internal doors to keep the heat in.
Portable heaters can be used if the heating is not working and you can call 105 for information, as it is a free service for those in England, Scotland and Wales.