Stock UP for bad weather? |pad patter 12.3

no i don't do that. but where we live it rarely snows for days. it's usually just a few hours, they clear the roads and it's fine. we shop once a week and it's a big shop. we usually have the basics on hand.

 

We rarely get snowed in either, so I don't usually make an special grocery trip for storms. This is how I prepared for a big storm last winter

We don't have fires much either; this wood is going to last years! The photo was taken January 22 and we still have most of the wood in our garage.

 

Nope... not really, unless we get a blizzard warning. But even then, living in the city of Chicago, we're up and running again within a day or two. And I can walk to the grocery store within 10 minutes. The only stocking up I do is if there's going to be a blizzard, I'll make sure we have the ingredients for cinnamon rolls. I only make them on blizzard days (which means I've made them twice... LOL!)!

The last blizzard hit here on Super Bowl Sunday a couple of years ago... Alex and I walked to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things (like our traditional Super Bowl cookie cake). The grocery store was a ZOO!!! A crazy mix of regular Saturday shoppers, blizzard stockpilers and clueless Super Bowl party food shoppers. I thought we were never going to get out of there!

 

It never fails, every time they call for snow here I am out of everything. I do tend to head out and grab a few essentials, but mostly because I just don't like getting out in it, not because I can't. There have been times we've been stuck for a week or two and DH ended up having to walk to the store. Our subdivision is privately maintained, so our ability to get out depends on who they've hired to do the roads that year. Our house sits at the bottom of a pretty steep hill that gets no sunlight. I've slid down it backwards more times than I care to think about, even in four wheel or all wheel drive. So, I don't go out on snowy days unless absolutely necessary and sometimes that means stocking up ahead of time.

 

People here freak out - hurricane or snow storm - all the bread and milk sell out. I usually have more than a few days of food on hand so we hardly ever do anything to prepare.

 

This used to be very common in Montreal. I remember vividly my first big snow storm here. When the storm was announced everyone in the office packed up their stuff, ran over to the grocery store in the strip mall across the street and bought all the water, bread canned stuff..... i was bewildered. I have to say though, i was one of the last to leave because i only lived about a mile from the office. The storm came up really fast, and that was one of the longest miles i ever drove. Zero visibility, wind strong enough to blow the car sideways,


Not so much anymore though...

 

This is from the blizzard we had in 2011. The kids sledding off of the tops of garbage cans and dumpsters in the alley after we got around 22 inches of snow overnight. (And this is not piled up snow from shoveling or snow plows. This was before shoveling started and before plows could even get to us.)

 

no panic here for us in Michigan - we are pretty much used to getting dumped on and driving around in it. I guess I too must usually have enough on hand to last us a while if needed, but I can't think of a time, even in MI, where we didn't just go out and get what we need when we need it - no matter how bad the winter (and they can get BAD)! I wish I lived in Arizona though and only got the "snow" you speak of @AnneofAlamo - that would be my kind of winter! For being someone who has lived on the lakeshore in Michigan all my life, you would think I love snow and winter, since it usually ends up being almost a whole half a year I feel like, but alas - I still HATE it!

 

I try to stay stocked up all the time. Just in case of.....well.....anything! We don't get snowstorms. We do get rain but nothing really bad except on occasion. We get the dust storms but they are quick to get thru. But I just like to have everything on hand all the time just in case something were to happen and we couldn't leave home for whatever reason.

 

@MandaKay this is totally true, I live in Michigan too the only difference is I LOVE snow. The only time I remember getting enough snow to the point of being snowed in for a number of days was in the 70's and there was a neighbor that took the time (on a snowmobile) to stop at each house to ask what we needed from town and he did the purchases and delivered. It was awesome!

I never stock up due to weather. I do have a pantry that is pretty stocked all the time as I'm a huge sale shopper. If it is on sale for a great price I stock up.

 

When I lived in Massachusetts and Utah I did a check of what our milk and eggs status was, and grabbed more if we were low. Mostly because I hate driving in the snow, and I hate dealing with the crazy people at the store preparing for Armageddon.
During a few of the really bad storms, the power to the stores was out, or the employees couldn't get there so they were closed. I would rather sit inside and enjoy the weather than be out in it.
Now I don't worry about it. Nevada seems pretty tame.

I do prepare by sticking every single electronic item on their wall charger to make sure we have full batteries.

 

We don't usually stock up when it's supposed to snow either ... we're usually "shoveled" out within 24 hours or so - we're supposed to get the 1st snow of the season tonight / tomorrow AM - 4 inches - which means people will be driving stupid ... like they've never driven in snow before ... until they get used to it again!

 

I live in Michigan. It's always snowing lol

 

I used to keep frozen eggbeaters and powdered milk on hand when I lived in the Midwest but I don't think I ever used them even when we were without power for extended periods. I loved snow days, but didn't like making them up at the end of the school year. Here in Seattle, we are within walking distance to stores so I never think about stocking up. We are getting forecasts for snow here too. Since we did not get any measurable the last few years, I'm looking forward to it. I hope I don't regret that last sentence!

 

All it takes is for a weather person to mention "snowflake" in the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia) and mass panic ensues. There's an immediate run on milk, eggs, bread, and toilet paper, whether the storm actually arrives or not.

I try to have a lot of the basics around anyway, and will stock up on milk and other essentials before a storm. I may not need it, but a neighbor might. Especially that neighbor who uses up all her milk making hot cocoa for all the neighborhood kids.

 

Hurricane Katrina - yes,
A really big snow storm is expected - yes.

But we are used to snow here in NY, so it doesn't phase us too much. They know how to clear the roads pretty fast regardless of how much falls. It's those icy roads that I do not like!

 

A few years ago, here in ATL we had Snowmageden. It was awful. Kids stuck in day cares, cars stranded, people stuck at work. AWFUL!

So, if the weather predicts bad weather - the shelves of milk and bread are wiped clean like zombies are coming.

People, why milk and bread? Isn't that the ingredients for glue? LOL

 

We get A LOT of snow here. Like we're predicted to get 80 inches this winter which happens mostly after Christmas.

So I definitely do not run out to the store whenever snow is coming. I'd have to live there!

If we're slated to get more than 6 inches in one swoop, I would probably check to make sure we had our 'must haves' so I didn't have to go out while it was snowing but otherwise, nah.

When you live in a place that averages 70 to 80 inches of snow a year, you don't get snowed in. We have a buttload of volunteer and commercial snowplows that come out the minute the first snowflake falls & they do a great job unless it's a constant heavy snow over a period of several hours.

Even when it snowed 11 inches in one day last winter, we were plowed out within 24-36 hours.