From Hurricanes to Blizzards

Photo: courtesy noaa.

We have gone from preparing for hurricanes to preparing for a blizzard. All of southwestern Ontario is under a severe winter storm watch.

Having lived in Florida for years, we have lots of experience preparing for hurricanes. There would be several days warning of a hurricane, and everyone would rush out to the grocery store, or Home Depot/Lowes, and buy supplies. Shelves would be stripped bare of water, batteries, plywood, in a few hours. There were long lines at the gas pumps as people filled up in anticipation of evacuating if the hurricane was very strong. If you didn’t go early you were out of luck. The pace was frenetic. The neighbourhood sounded like a construction site as neighbours sawed plywood and hammered it in place over their windows.

Preparing for a winter snowstorm has a much calmer feel to it. We went to the grocery store yesterday to get groceries to make sure we had food in for a few days. There were no special stocks of batteries, and water. The store wasn’t busier than usual. No line ups at the gas pump.

What I appreciate is I don’t have to worry that my house is going to blow away or agonize over whether to evacuate. If the weather gets bad all we have to do is stay home. The biggest concern seems to be loss of power, so we will make sure the house stays warm, we have flashlights and batteries, and our cell phones are charged.

The kids are really hoping they get a snow day.