Thundersleet

A winter storm approaches. The city of St. Louis freaks out.

However, this storm looks to be bringing ice with it, which does not bode well for anyone - not even a native North Dakotan like me who's been through many blizzards and learned how to drive in disasterous conditions. So, freaking out is a good thing in this case.

That said, my inner survivalist kicked in. I packed up my cold-weather emergency roadside kit. The following are things that everyone should have within reach if they're traveling during a weather emergency:

-flares
-a blanket
-a flashlight (I have one but need batteries, which I'll be getting shortly)
-gloves, hat, mittens, jacket, socks (extra layering for warmth in case you get stuck)
-water
-energy bars
-phone charger
-ice scraper
-pocket knife (this goes with me on kayaking trips also...for cutting errant fishing line that can take you down)
-towel (if you get wet, gotta dry off to prevent frostbite)
-Lighter (melting snow)
-Red scarf (for tying to antenna for visibilty, alerts)
-Little first aid kit

They're taking about power outages. When that happens, I tend to turn up my heat an extra 5 degrees, which helps prevent the house from cooling down as quickly. I also make sure I know where my flashlights are, candles and lighters.

Good times on the horizon. We'll see how this all shakes out.