[tkln]

What's your definition of 'much snow'???

[marcav]

I had a block heater in my truck years ago when I lived in Vermont. When I moved to New Jersey there wasn't a single person who could figure out what it was (and these were gas stations!)

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by vter

I lived in the Boston area for a few years after college and I always felt colder there, even though it was warmer. Why? It's a damp cold...probably much as the same as you'd find in NYC or on LI. I'm shivering just thinking about it.
Up here the air is much dryer....it's much easier to warm up in it IMO.

Thank you for putting that in writing -- my husband, family and friends laugh at me when I tell them that the VT cold isn't the same as the Long Island cold (or any NE damp coastal cold). I say it's a 'dry cold' and it doesn't get into your clothes anywere near as quickly as the damp air does.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

Okay, winter is coming so natives, give me some tips what I should have in my apartment & how to get my car ready.

Do I need a generator? I was reading a similar post on the NH board.
I've lived with snow before and shoveled plenty of it! I know about shovels, ice melt, flash lights and batteries for the house. Candles of course, and matches.

My heat is propane. If the lights go out does that mean my heat will go out? I assume it might as the thermostat is probably electric?

Does the power go out a lot? (I'm West of Lebanon). Should I have lots of canned goods ready? (yeah, I know, it's NE not the Arctic Circle.)

Any advice? You guys are so helpful, thanks.

Martha Stewart says, "A generator is a good thing."

We have a Generac whole house system and it has been a Godsend! The former owners installed it and after 3 years here I understand why. With all the whacky wind storms and downpours, the power goes out here quite a lot. The big storm last winter that knocked out 250,000 people in NE? We were one of them! The gennie ran for several days.

I have a huge propane tank that supplies it. The gennie turns on once a week to test and cycle for 10 minutes and then shuts down. But when the lights go off --BOOM! gennie kicks on 10 sec later. The gennie runs the entire house -- electirc dryer, electric range, AC's, hot water heater, lights and hot tub. I will admit that having the AC and the dryer or the dryer and the range on simultaneously strains it.

I keep plenty of canned goods on hand, soups, broths, veggies as well as pastas, rice and tasty pickled things from the farmer's markets. Some tuna, Spam for when the pickings get slim, s'mores fixings. Bottled water, Gatorade (and several bottles of wine -- candelight, fire and cool nights...oh, and birth control! lol)

One other thing to keep in the trunk is kitty litter. My old Durango went sliding off the road, It had been sleeting, I arrived after dark and it had become very cold. The road surface iced up as I started down a slope. SWOOSH! Off to the right into a small drainage ditch -- just the passenger side of the car. (Had I gone to the left, I would have gone over a 30' embankment. I was very lucky!) I had a car full of kids, no cell phone service and was a dark, cold and wet 1.5 mile walk to my house. No traction in 4WD under the driver's side wheels and the passenger side was sort of in the air. I had no kitty litter to throw under the driver's wheels I ended up walking around snapping off sticks and shoving them under my tires. It worked.