Preparing for an ice storm comes down to three priorities: keeping your home warm and functional during a power outage, protecting your pipes and property from ice damage, and having enough supplies to stay safe for at least 72 hours. Ice storms cause more widespread, long-lasting power outages than almost any other weather event, so the bulk of your preparation should focus on what happens when the electricity goes out.
Stock a 72-Hour Emergency Kit
Your kit should cover the basics: drinking water, non-perishable food that doesn’t need cooking or refrigeration (canned goods, peanut butter, crackers, dried fruit), flashlights, extra batteries, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, power banks, and phone chargers. Sign up for your community’s warning system and know that NOAA Weather Radio and the Emergency Alert System broadcast alerts even when cell networks are overloaded.
If you rely on any medications, make sure you have at least a week’s supply on hand before the storm hits. Keep a basic first aid kit accessible, along with a manual can opener, matches or a lighter, and enough warm blankets or sleeping bags for everyone in the household. Fill bathtubs and large containers with water before the storm. You can use this for flushing toilets and washing if the municipal supply is disrupted.
Protect Your Pipes From Freezing
Frozen pipes are one of the most common and expensive consequences of an ice storm. Pipes running through unheated spaces like crawl spaces, attics, garages, and exterior walls are the most vulnerable. Install pipe sleeves or UL-listed heat tape on any exposed water lines. If you don’t have those materials on hand, even wrapping pipes in layers of newspaper provides some short-term insulation, though it won’t hold up through a prolonged deep freeze.
Before temperatures drop, open cabinet doors under kitchen and bathroom sinks to let warm air reach the pipes against exterior walls. Let faucets fed by exposed pipes drip slowly. A small, steady flow of water is much harder to freeze than standing water in a pipe. Know where your main water shutoff valve is so you can act quickly if a pipe does burst.
Plan for Power Outages
A closed refrigerator keeps food cold for about 4 hours. A full freezer holds its temperature for roughly 48 hours, or 24 hours if it’s only half full, as long as you keep the door shut. Resist the urge to check on things. Group perishable items together in the freezer before the storm to help them stay cold longer, and have a cooler and ice ready if you need to transfer essentials.
If you have a portable generator, placement is critical. Run it outside only, at least 20 feet from your home, with the exhaust directed away from the house and any other buildings. Carbon monoxide is odorless and kills quickly. The warning signs of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness, and confusion. If anyone in the household develops those symptoms during a power outage, get everyone outside immediately and call 911. Never run a generator in a garage, even with the door open.
The same rule applies to any fuel-burning heat source. Camp stoves, charcoal grills, and propane heaters designed for outdoor use should never be brought inside. If you’re relying on a fireplace or wood stove, make sure the flue is open and the chimney is clear before the storm.
Keep Your Home Warm Without Power
Pick one room as your warm room and close it off from the rest of the house. Choose an interior room with few windows if possible. Hang blankets over windows and doorways to trap heat. Everyone sleeping in the same room shares body heat and reduces the space you need to keep warm.
Dress in layers rather than one heavy garment. Wool and synthetic fabrics insulate better than cotton, especially if anything gets damp. Pay attention to extremities: hats, thick socks, and gloves matter more than most people expect. Hypothermia begins when core body temperature drops below 95°F, and it can set in at surprisingly moderate temperatures if you’re sedentary, elderly, or not eating enough. Early signs include shivering, clumsiness, and confusion. If someone stops shivering and becomes drowsy, that’s a medical emergency. Move them gently to a warmer space, replace any wet clothing with dry layers, and call for help.
Prepare Your Property
Ice accumulates on tree branches and can bring down limbs weighing hundreds of pounds. Before storm season, prune branches with weak attachments, split trunks, and visible defects. Properly pruned trees with strong branch connections hold up far better under ice weight. Do not top your trees. Topped trees quickly regrow new branches that are poorly attached and more likely to snap in exactly this kind of storm.
Identify any branches that hang over your roof, car, power lines, or walkways. Those are your highest priorities for removal or trimming. Move vehicles away from large trees if possible once a storm warning is issued. Bring in or secure any outdoor furniture, decorations, or loose items that could become hazards under ice.
Get Your Car Ready
Even if you plan to stay home, your car may be your only heated space during a prolonged outage, or you may need to evacuate. The National Weather Service recommends keeping a winter survival kit in your vehicle that includes blankets or a sleeping bag, booster cables, a flashlight with extra batteries, non-perishable snacks like granola bars and dried nuts, bottled water, a snow shovel, an ice scraper with brush, sand or kitty litter for traction, a first aid kit, extra warm clothing (hat, gloves, boots), road flares or reflective triangles, and a cell phone charger.
Fill your gas tank before the storm. Gas stations can’t pump fuel without electricity, and you may need to run the engine periodically for heat. If you do idle your car for warmth, make sure the exhaust pipe is clear of snow and ice to prevent carbon monoxide from backing into the cabin.
Protect Your Pets
Bring pets inside well before the storm arrives. Common ice melt products contain sodium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, and magnesium chloride, all of which can irritate or poison animals that lick their paws after walking on treated surfaces. Every time your pet comes inside, wipe their paws and fur thoroughly, then wash off any remaining residue. If you’re buying ice melt for your own walkways, look for products labeled pet-safe, which typically use urea-based formulas that are less toxic.
Make sure outdoor water bowls won’t freeze solid. Stock extra pet food alongside your own emergency supplies. If you have livestock or animals in outbuildings, ensure they have access to unfrozen water and shelter from wind, and check on them frequently during the worst of the storm.
After the Storm: Roof and Recovery Safety
Ice dams form when heat escaping from your attic melts snow on the roof, which then refreezes at the colder eaves. The long-term fix is sealing air leaks from the living space into the attic and adding insulation to the attic floor. In the short term, watch for warning signs of structural stress: interior doors that suddenly stick, new cracks in drywall or plaster (typically near the center of the house rather than exterior walls), and visible sagging along the roof’s ridge line.
If you see those signs, you need to reduce the weight on the roof. But removing ice yourself is dangerous for both you and your roofing materials, and it will likely void your shingle warranty. If it must be done, hire a professional. When clearing is necessary, always work from the top of the roof down. Starting at the bottom can release ice above that slides down and strikes you. Often, the safest approach is simply clearing dangerous overhangs and icicles and creating drainage paths rather than attempting a full removal.
Don’t rush to use outdoor grills, generators, or space heaters indoors just because temperatures are still low after the storm passes. More carbon monoxide deaths happen in the days after a major ice storm than during it, as people grow desperate for heat during extended outages. The same 20-foot rule for generators applies on day four just as much as day one.