Severe winter weather storms hit the east coast and other parts of the nation recently. What if you had an emergency while driving in a severe winter storm, are you prepared with a winter survival kit? If your answer is no, the Cooperative Extension Service is here to help by providing information on preparing a physical winter survival kit and providing a winter survival kit smartphone app called Winter Survival Kit.
Winter Survival Kit app
The Winter Survival Kit app was developed by Cooperative Extension of North Dakota and Myriad Devices, with funding from USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Smith-Lever Special Needs grants. The Winter Survival Kit app can help you if you find yourself stuck or stranded in severe winter weather conditions by:
- Storing important phone and policy numbers for insurance and roadside assistance. You also can designate emergency contacts you want to alert when you become stranded.
- Determining your geographic location of where you are stranded and contacting emergency services. The app’s “gas calculator” will help you estimate how long you can run your engine on your remaining fuel.
- Alerting you every 30 minutes to remind you to periodically turn off your engine and to check your exhaust pipe for snow buildup. These alerts are critical in helping you avoid deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Winter Survival Kit app also provides information on how to:
- Put together a physical winter survival kit
- Prepare your vehicle for winter driving
- How to stay safe when stranded in a winter storm.
The Winter Survival Kit app is available for free on Google Play and the iTunes App Store.
