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Winter storm outage power

Ready.gov’s winter-storm terms, carbon monoxide limits, and what a battery can and cannot do for heat.

Published . Updated .

Ready.gov’s winter-weather page, marked updated 3 November 2026, says winter storms raise the risk of car crashes, hypothermia, frostbite, carbon monoxide poisoning, and heart attacks from overexertion. A storm can last hours or days and can cut heat, power, and communications. Older adults, children, people who are sick, and pets are at greater risk. A power station does not replace shelter or heat.

The words on the alert

Ready.gov defines three terms worth knowing before the lights flicker:

  • A winter storm warning means hazardous winter weather, such as heavy snow, heavy freezing rain, or heavy sleet, is imminent or occurring. Warnings are usually issued 12 to 24 hours ahead.
  • A winter storm watch means a blizzard, heavy snow, heavy freezing rain, or heavy sleet is possible, usually 12 to 48 hours ahead.
  • A winter weather advisory is for snow, freezing rain, freezing drizzle, or sleet that will be a serious inconvenience and can become life-threatening if you are careless.

If you are under a winter storm warning, Ready.gov says to find shelter right away. NOAA Weather Radio and the Emergency Alert System are two ways those messages arrive if the phone is down. Sign up for the local warning system as well.

Heat without making carbon monoxide

Ready.gov says to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning by using generators and grills outdoors and away from windows, and never to heat the home with a gas stovetop or oven. Using an oven or stovetop for heat can also raise the risk of fire and burns and can damage the appliance. The CDC repeats the generator distance: never indoors, and not within 20 feet of a window, door, or vent. Install carbon monoxide detectors with battery backup and test them. The carbon monoxide guide stays with those limits and does not add a treatment protocol.

A battery station can run a blanket, a modem, or a fan only within its continuous and surge ratings. It is a poor substitute for a furnace. Electric space heat is often a high continuous load. If the nameplate is above the station’s continuous watts, the calculator should fail that check. Do not override the check to make the number look acceptable. If the home is too cold, Ready.gov’s power-outage page says to check with local officials about heating locations nearby. The CDC says if conditions are too hot or too cold, seek shelter with friends or at a community shelter.

Ready.gov also says people who cannot afford heating, weatherization, or energy repairs can contact the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. That is a public program, not a product on this site.

The house and the car

Prepare the building with insulation, caulking, and weather stripping, and learn how to keep pipes from freezing. Ready.gov asks households to gather supplies for several days without power, including medication and pet needs, and extra batteries for radios and flashlights.

Stay off roads if you can. If you are trapped in a car, stay in the car. A car kit on Ready.gov’s list includes jumper cables, sand, a flashlight, warm clothes, blankets, water, and food that does not spoil, and a full tank before the storm. Limit time outside. Layers help. Ready.gov describes frostbite as loss of feeling and color around the face, fingers, and toes, with numbness or white, grayish-yellow, firm, or waxy skin. It says to get to a warm room, soak in warm water, and use body heat, and not to massage the skin or use a heating pad. It describes hypothermia as an unusually low body temperature, and a temperature below 95 °F as an emergency, with shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech, or drowsiness. It says to warm the center of the body first and keep the person dry and wrapped, including the head and neck. Those are Ready.gov’s first-aid lines, not a complete medical guide. If someone is getting worse, call emergency services.

Shoveling is a common trigger for overexertion. Ready.gov says to reduce heart-attack risk by avoiding overexertion in the snow. A battery will not change that.

Food and phones

Keep the fridge and freezer shut. The time windows are in the fridge guide. Charge phones and a NOAA radio before the storm, using the same restraint as in the apartment kit: a bank’s milliamp-hour rating is not a watt-hour rating, and a station’s runtime is the calculator’s arithmetic on your assumptions.

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