Amador County
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Prepare for Cold Weather
Winter storms create a higher risk of car accidents, hypothermia, frostbite, carbon monoxide poisoning, and heart attacks from overexertion. Winter storms, including blizzards, can bring extreme cold, freezing rain, snow, ice and high winds. Winter storms can last a few hours or several days, cut off heat, power and communications services, and put older adults, children, sick individuals at greater risk. Planning ahead for severe storms is the best way to ensure everyone's safety. Prepare Now, Survive During, Recognize & Respond.
Prepare Now:
- Sign up for Amador County Emergency Alerts and download the Amador County Sheriff's Office mobile app.
- Know your area's risk for winter storms. Extreme winter weather can leave communities without utilities or other services for long periods of time.
- Prepare your home to keep out the cold with insulation, caulking, and weather stripping. Learn how to keep your pipes from freezing. Install and test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors with battery backups.
- Pay attention to weather reports and warnings of freezing weather and winter storms.
- Gather supplies in case you need to stay home for several days without power. Keep in mind each person's specific needs, including medication. Do not forget the needs of pets. Have extra batteries for radios and flashlights.
- Create an emergency supply kit for your car. Include jumper cables, sand, a flashlight, warm clothes, blankets, bottled water, and non-perishable snacks. Keep the gas tank full.
- Learn to identify the signs of the basic treatments for frostbite and hypothermia.
Survive During:
- Stay off roads if at all possible. If trapped in your car, stay inside. If trapped, call 911.
- Limit your time outside. If you need to go outside, wear layers of warm clothing. Watch for signs of frostbite and hypothermia.
- Avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Only use generators and grills outdoors and away from windows. Never heat your home with a gas stovetop or oven.
- Reduce the risk of heart attack. Avoid overexertion when shoveling snow.
- Watch for signs of frostbite and hypothermia and begin treatment right away.
- Check on neighbors. Older adults and young children are more at risk in extreme cold.
Recognize & Respond:
- Frostbite causes loss of feeling and color around the face, fingers, and toes.
- Frostbite Signs:
- Numbness, white, or grayish-yellow skin, and firm or waxy skin.
- Frostbite Actions:
- Go to a warm room.
- Soak in warm water.
- Use body heat to warm.
- Do not massage or use a heating pad.
- Hypothermia is an unusually low body temperature. A temperature below 95 degrees is an emergency.
- Hypothermia Signs:
- Shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech, and drowsiness.
- Hypothermia Actions:
- Go to a warm room.
- Warm the center of the body first - chest, neck, head, and groin.
- Keep dry and wrapped up in warm blankets, including the neck and head.
If you are unable to afford your heating costs, weatherization or energy-related home repairs, contact the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for help.
Thunderstorm, Lightning, or Hail Preparedness
Thunderstorms are dangerous storms that include lightning. They include powerful winds, can create lightning and hail, and may cause flash flooding and tornadoes. When thunder roars, go indoors, pay attention to alerts and warnings, move from outdoors into a building or car, unplug your appliances, and do not use landline phones.
Prepare Now:
- Sign up for Amador County Emergency Alerts and download the Amador County Sheriff's Office mobile app.
- Know your area's risk of thunderstorms. They can occur year-round and at any hour.
- Identify sturdy buildings close to where you live, work, study, and play.
- Cut down or trim trees that may be in danger of falling on your home.
- Consider buying surge protectors, lightning rods, or a lightning protection system to protect your home, appliances, and electronic devices.
- Secure outside furniture.
Survive During:
- When thunder roars, go indoors. A sturdy building is the safest place to be during a thunderstorm.
- Pay attention to weather reports and warnings of thunderstorms. Be ready to change plans, if necessary, to be near shelter.
- When you receive a thunderstorm warning or hear thunder, go inside immediately.
- If indoors, avoid running water or using landline phones. Electricity can travel through plumbing and phone lines.
- Protect your property. Unplug appliances and other electronic devices.
- If boating or swimming, get to land and find a sturdy, grounded shelter or vehicle immediately.
- Avoid flooded roadways. Turn Around, Don't Drown. Just six inches of fast-moving water can knock you down, and one foot of moving water can sweep your vehicle away.
Be Safe After:
- Pay attention to Emergency Alerts and weather forecasts to know whether it is safe to go outside and to get information regarding potential flash flooding.
- Watch for fallen power lines and trees. Report them immediately.
Click here to download our Winter Weather Safety & Preparedness Guide
For more information, visit:
- https://www.ready.gov/winter-weather
- https://www.weather.gov/bgm/outreachextremecoldsafety
- https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/EPO/Pages/ExtremeCold.aspx
- https://www.listoscalifornia.org/disaster-readiness/severe-storms/
- https://www.ready.gov/thunderstorms-lightning
- Extreme Cold: A Prevention Guide to Promote Your Personal Health and Safety
- How to Prevent Frozen Pipes
- Weather Forecast
Stay Safe During Cold Weather
- Hypothermia: Understanding and Avoiding a Drop in Body Temperature
- What You Need to Know When the Power Goes Out
- Exercise and Cold Weather
- Safe Winter Driving
- CHP - Winter Driving Tips
Workers
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