01/21/2026
J Custom
J Custom Supply, Inc
Baby its Cold Outside!
Here in the South, we face alligators, snapping turtles, mosquito swarms, and 110-degree heat without a whimper. However, when the weather turns cold and the forecast is for icy rain, we become helpless!
With it expected to be 29 degrees in Baton Rouge on Sunday night, and even colder thru most of the Southeast, it seems prudent to offer some cold weather survival skills. While the folks in the Northeast and the Northern Plains States may laugh, this weather presents a serious survival challenge to us. Here are a few tips to help you get thru this safely:
First remember your Hurricane preparations (except instead of a raincoat you are going to need a heavy jacket!!):
• Stock up on food and bottled water, medicines, and if needed, infant supplies like diapers and formula. For me, necessities include Diet Mountain Dew and Reece’s Cups! Even if the stores are open, you don’t know how to drive in icy conditions and should stay home until the weather clears. Freezing to death in a ditch is not a pleasant way to go.
• Get the portable generator out of storage and make sure it will start. Store extra gasoline safely.
• Fill the bathtub(s) with water. If utility water service is lost, this water can be used to wash and flush toilets.
• Fuel your cars/trucks now, don’t wait until Sunday afternoon when the lines are long and the supplies short. But didn’t you say to not drive? Yes, and I meant it, but the vehicle can serve as a short-term emergency warm shelter and as a way to charge phone batteries.
o Have the radiator system serviced or check the antifreeze level yourself with an antifreeze tester. Add antifreeze as needed.
o Replace windshield-wiper fluid with a wintertime mixture.
• Now lets get the house ready –
o Seal off unused rooms by stuffing rolled-up towels in the cracks under the doors. At night, cover windows with extra blankets or sheets.
o Have a plan to take care of your pets. They need adequate shelter. In sub-zero temperatures, their paws, noses and ears can succumb to frostbite—bring them inside. If you can’t bring them in your home, house them in a garage or basement with plenty of warm bedding.
o Keep your pipes from freezing. Wrap them in insulation or layers of newspapers, covering the newspapers with plastic to keep out moisture. Allow a trickle of water to run from a faucet if your pipes have frozen in the past. This will keep the water moving so that it cannot freeze.
o Know how to shut off your water if a pipe should burst.
o DO NOT USE YOUR CHARCOAL GRILL IN THE HOUSE – Carbon Monoxide is deadly!!!
• Check in with elderly or disabled relatives and neighbors to ensure they are safe. Again, get them situated BEFORE the freeze comes – stay off the road!
• But I used to live up North, I know how to drive in ice and snow! Well, even if that is true, you will be on the road with hundreds of other who don’t. Did I mention – STAY OFF THE ROAD! AGAIN - FREEZING TO DEATH IN A DITCH IS NOT A PLEASANT WAY TO GO.
