Tips for Surviving St. Louis’ Coldest Winter in Years

This morning, St. Louis-area residents awoke to below-zero temperatures which are only expected to drop even further. Although the temperatures will rise slightly over the next few days, they are then expected to drop to levels they haven’t been at in over 15 years. As the temperature drops, meteorologists are also predicting more snow- about 10 inches to be exact.

ST. LOUIS WEATHER FORECAST

Here’s the outline of the predicted weather pattern in the coming days:

Friday (Today)
Although this morning’s temperatures were below zero in some parts of the St. Louis metro area, the high for the day is expected to be in the upper 20s. Today will be predominantly sunny with a slight breeze.

Saturday
The calm before the imminent storm, Saturday will have a high of 39 degrees during the day. Once the sun goes down, the temperature is expected to drop significantly and snow is poised to fall this night.

Sunday to Tuesday
Temperatures will continue to drop after the snowfall anywhere from zero to -5 degrees. Meteorologists also predict intense wind which will drop the temperature to between -20 and -30 with the wind chill.

When the weather gets this extreme, residents need to take every precaution. Every daily activity is made more hazardous with the presence of below-freezing temperatures, extreme wind, snow, and ice. To help you combat the oncoming storm, we’ve provided a list of tips based on official winter safety tips from FEMA.

FEMA WINTER SAFETY TIPS

• Insulate your pipes if they are not already. This can prevent them from freezing over and bursting, which could cause thousands of dollars in damage.
• Allow faucets to slightly drip. This is another way you can prevent pipes from freezing up. Not only can frozen pipes cause property damage, but they also eliminate running water.
• Because of the risk of frozen pipes, make sure you have an extra supply of water in your home and vehicle. Water is an essential part of any emergency supply kit. Other helpful things to have in this kit are: non-perishable food items, lights, hand-warmers, and bandages.
• Limit travel. Although the world goes on despite the weather, FEMA strongly suggests that you limit your travel as much as possible, particularly vehicular travel. There is a serious spike in car accidents during the winter months due to ice, snow, and low visibility. Also, read “Tips to Prepare Your Car for Winter Travel” for more helpful information.
• Limit how much you exert yourself. Just today, KMOV reported that two men, one from Alton and another from St. Charles County, died after shoveling snow from their yard. Both men suffered heart attacks due to overexertion.

Stay safe and stay warm in the coming days!

From the team at Fox Goldblatt & Singer PC.