Tips to Keep Food Safe When the Power Goes Out in a Winter Storm

The cost of groceries is high these days, so losing the contents of your fridge and freezer could be costly. Utilize these tips and tricks to protect your food from spoiling.

Tristate Under Ice

Winter Storm Blair has put the entire area in a tight freeze with much of the Tristate under a heavy sheet of ice. Unfortunately, with this kind of ice, tree limbs can come crashing down, taking out powerlines. Many in our area are now without power.

Restoration Times Can Vary Greatly

When the power goes out in a winter storm like this, restoration times can vary from a few hours to a few days, and an outage of more than a few hours can put the food in your refrigerator and freezer at risk.

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Hands Off: Keep Your Refrigerator Doors Closed

First and foremost, keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed to maintain its internal temperature for as long as possible. If left unopened, your refrigerator can keep your food at a safe temperature for approximately four hours, according to the FDA. A fully stocked and unopened freezer can stay frozen for up to 48 hours. If it is about half full, that time is cut to just 24 hours.

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Using The Winter Storm to Our Advantage

Under normal circumstances, a loss of power would mean you would need a block of ice or even dry ice to maintain the internal refrigeration temperatures beyond the time mentioned above. However, since we are talking about an outage as the result of a winter ice storm, we can use that to our advantage.

Try This Trick to Keep Food Cold During a Winter Power Outage

If it appears you will be without power for longer than the times mentioned above, you can try this trick to keep everything at a safe temperature. Put things in a cooler, add some ice from the freezer if you have it, and then put it outside.

Minimize Your Food Loss

With temperatures below 32 degrees outside, a cooler left outdoors can maintain your food at a safe temperature until your power can be restored. While you may not be able to fit your entire fridge or freezer into a cooler, this hack can help at least minimize your losses.

[SOURCE: FDA]

15 Things to Do When It's Too Cold to Go Outside

Winter weather is inevitable. Most days, we still have to leave the comforts of home to venture out into the world, but occasionally, there are days when it is just too darn cold to go outside. The next time you find yourself stuck inside because it's too cold to leave the house, check out these fifteen ideas to help pass the time.

Gallery Credit: Kat Mykals

Source: Tips to Keep Food Safe When the Power Goes Out in a Winter Storm