There are several simple things Preppers may want in their car when driving in snowy weather conditions. Below is a list of seven items that you’ll want in your car when you’re driving in a snowstorm. Can you guess what they are? If you’ve lived in a snowy climate for years then you can probably guess most of them. However, the weather has been taking some extreme turns lately which is a wake up call for many of us to double-check our preps and to make sure we are prepared.
One stormy winter day while driving down the highway, I saw 4 cars that had slid off the road. The tow trucks and highway patrol couldn’t keep up with all the accidents. The police put out a statement to “stay off the roads if possible“. I was excitedly on my way to visit my newest nephew and sister in the hospital. I was also assigned to take my mother to the airport for her return flight home after the visit. They were an hour away but after 20 intense minutes of driving (in the middle of a snowstorm with low visibility), my worried mother told me to turn around and go home. Since my car was having a hard time on the roads (randomly drifting to the right and left), I followed my mother and the highway patrol’s plea and started to look for the next exit that would take me home.
This was not the first snowstorm I had driven into but it was brutal enough that I checked my car emergency kit when I got home. My poor mother got a ride from my brother-in-law to the airport and was a little worried when she couldn’t see where the road began or ended, she could only see the snow-covered earth. She worriedly wondered if he had an emergency kit in his car and later asked me if I had one. She wondered what I kept in my emergency car kit to prepare for driving in a snowstorm.
Driving in a Snowstorm – Emergency Car Kit Additions
1. Mylar Blanket
An orange mylar emergency blanket is not only helpful in trapping body heat in an emergency it also can be used to signal for help. In snowstorms, its hard to spot other vehicles especially if it is white. To make your car more visible close it on the outside of the door. Also add some duct tape to your emergency car kit if it’s not already in there.
2. Rain Suit
Yes, you read it right, a rain suit. When you leave your home you’re not always dressed in snowgear or even a jacket. So if you get stuck or your car breaks down while you are wearing a business suit it would be helpful to have a coat and pants to pull on over your clothes if you want to change a tire or put on snow chains.
My husband and I got caught in a snowstorm while on vacation. Luckily, we had a rain suit in our emergency car kit. It keep my husband’s clothes dry while he added snow chains to our car.
3. Collapsible Shovel
If you slide off the road driving in a snowstorm, shovels allow you to dig a path from your car back to the road. Rubber snow tracks can also help get you back on the road. If your car is stuck, shovel the snow out from around your doors and exhaust pipe. After a few hours in a snowstorm, the snow can get so high that it blocks the doors trapping you inside. You also will need to keep the exhaust pipe clear to keep carbon monoxide from building-up in and around your car.
4. Glass Breaker/ Seat belt cutter
Automatic windows can freeze-up and not work. I have even had my car doors freeze shut! Luckily, I was at home so I just waited until it defrosted but since then I have added a glass breaker to my glove-box just in case.
5. Snow Chains
If you wait to buy them until you need them then you’ll either pay three times more, be stuck waiting for a tow truck, or just plain stranded. My husband and I travel around the holidays visiting family. Some roads we travel have checkpoints or road warnings where snow chains are required.
6. Portable Charger Battery Bank
An easy way to charge cell phones if the car battery is dead.
7. Candle Lantern
I keep a flashlight in my vehicle but it doesn’t always work in extreme cold. This candle lantern adds light and warmth. It lasts for 9 hours and puts off 1900 BTUs (3 times more heat than a tealight candle). I like that the candle is enclosed in the lantern and hangs up. It’s less likely that I’ll knock it over or catch something on fire. Don’t forget to add a lighter or matches with the lantern. A matchbook fits easily it the box it comes with. Wool blankets or a folding camping stove are other good options for keeping warm.
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Ok….Being from the north, snow belt, east side of the great lakes I thought I would have picked the same “winter driving” items. Well it turns out you picked mostly different things than I would. I would have never thought of a blaze orange anything to make the car more visible. I will have to add that to my winter driving kit. Common wisdom where I grew up is to have the following items in the car for winter driving always because you never know when a storm will blow up. Also blizzard driving conditions can be very localized, you never really know what you might end up driving through.
My winter driving necessity list:
Proper winter clothing for each member of the family. This includes but is not limited to scarves, gloves or mittens and if not already wearing a warm winter coat and boots.
Snow brush and scrapper
Warm blankets preferably wool
Jumper cables (though this should already be in your car 365) cold weather is hard on batteries.
Cat litter/sand/ cardboard This is for traction if you get stuck.
A shovel for digging yourself out
A candle in a metal can plus some way to light it. I like your lantern, it’s great but not everyone has a lantern or funds to spend on such a specific use item. A candle in a can will keep a car warm enough so you won’t freeze to death, just don’t forget to crack a window.
Another thing I like to carry in the winter extra wind shield wiper fluid. Driving in slushy conditions tends to throw a lot of road dirt along with water and snow up from the tires. If you have to follow another car for any length of time you can go through fluid fast.
The last item pertains only to parents of small children. A lightweight sled with a long and sturdy enough rope to comfortably pull. If you do have to walk out you will need a way to bring your kids with you. Little legs and deep snow is slow going.
Like I said, these items are common wisdom from the snow belt. I have honestly had my mother literally chase me to my car with a candle in a can because she thought I needed to have it in the car. Hopefully you will also consider these items as well.
Thanks for the tip I will be putting some cans with some candles.
I’ve just bought a similar candle lantern as the one you’re showing in your article, works great.
Thais True. But, in you are trapped in your car and can‘t Open window, door or vent…. you will die. Carbon Monoxide or lack of Oxygene
Woah, scary stuff. My car kit right now has all the basics–paracord, flares, some energy bars, a few gallons of water, etc.–but, living in a hot weather climate, I don’t generally have to deal with snow. My extreme weather kit is more along the lines of sunscreen, umbrella/hat for shade, and bug repellent. Lots of mosquitoes down here in the South!