SALYERSVILLE – With this weekend’s forecast still a bit up in the air, now is the time to prepare for whatever Mother Nature decides to dump on us.
At press time on Wednesday, Magoffin is included in a large region spread across many states with an issued winter weather watch, currently running from Saturday morning through Monday morning.
The significant weather event is gearing up to dump large quantities of snow on some portions of the US, and a potentially devastating amount of ice in others to the south, with Eastern Kentucky sitting near the line between the two, so no way this far out to tell you what you’re prepping for, exactly, but now is the time to do all the prep work. At the back end of this system is extremely cold temperatures that will extend through much of next week, so whatever we get will be around a while.
So, today, make sure you have enough prescription medications to get through the next week or so.
Check your back up heat sources to make sure they are clean, operating properly and you have enough fuel for many days. Make sure you know the safe ways to operate your back up heat and/or power sources and follow all precautions. If you don’t have a backup heat source, make a plan to stay with a friend or family member who does. If you find yourself without heat, the Lloyd M. Hall Community Center will be available as a warming shelter through the weekend and as needed.
If you plan to use a generator, remember to turn off your main breaker to your home in order to prevent the generator from back-feeding the power lines, which could kill a lineman working on the lines.
Stock up on enough food and water for you and your pets for a few days to avoid any hazardous trips to the grocery store. Any time you get out in bad weather and get stuck, you put yourself, as well as the first responders who come to your aid, in danger, so plan ahead to avoid any unnecessary trips until the roads can be made more passable.
Since the weather can change quickly, make sure you watch the weather forecast closely for changes in your area. Whether you watch WYMT or WKYT for Magoffin’s own Chris Bailey, follow another Magoffin meteorologist Jim Caldwell on Facebook for his weather updates, or follow Ryan Hall, Y’all on YouTube, just stay weather aware.
In the meantime, charge up all the batteries and back up batteries for your personal devices, make a plan for your family and remember to check on your neighbors. Have a list of phone numbers ready to report outages in utilities, if need be, and just stay safe and warm out there!
