In Part 5 of our series on winter weather safety, I want to cover how to deal with power and Internet outages, as both can cause major inconveniences for residents, as well as cause critical issues for those who rely on continued power for mission-critical services.

The first thing I recommend all consumers do is to download their energy provider’s mobile app, as well as include the phone number for their energy provider’s report outage service. For many customers in Arkansas, Entergy Arkansas is the local energy provider. Customers can download the Entergy mobile app, as well as enroll in text messaging alerts by clicking here. To call the Entergy Arkansas Report Outage service, the phone number is 1-800-968-8243‬. Customers who are enrolled in text messaging alerts can also text out to ‭368-374. Keeping these numbers programmed into your phone contacts makes it easier to report an outage, especially late at night when it is difficult to find your paper energy bill for those who still receive paper bills (which is another good reason to keep the energy provider’s mobile app on your phone in case you need to quickly access your account information). I also recommend using the text option versus the call-in option if possible, as Entergy’s phone lines, as well as mobile service in general, will likely incur a larger volume of calls during a power outage, so using the text option to report an outage will allow Entergy to log and respond to the outage in a more timely manner, as well as reduce overall pressure on a mobile provider’s network. Energy companies should also consider looking into intelligent home energy monitoring solutions such as the sensor from Whisker Labs. Whisker Labs offers a simple, DIY home energy sensor that can transmit data via the web to allow customers to better monitor their home energy usage, as well as allow energy providers to better adjust for demand response during winter weather events and be notified quicker of energy outages when energy data stops flowing to them (Whisker Labs also uses Earth Networks weather data and was a subsidary of Earth Networks). Entergy Arkansas is not currently part of the Whisker Labs program, but I have recommended it to them, and I hope they will join in the future.

I also recommend customers have easy access to their energy provider’s power outage map. For customers in Arkansas serviced by Entergy Arkansas, click here to access the Entergy Arkansas power outage map (it is also available to customers in the Entergy mobile app; another benefit of the map is that it includes a weather radar layer from Earth Networks). The Entergy Arkansas Storm Center link is also a beneficial website to check during major severe and winter weather events for updates from Entergy Arkansas and power-related issues.

If consumers depend on their power for mission-critical services such as medical equipment, then it may be a good idea to consider either a portable home generator or a whole home generator. However, generators come with their own additional costs and safety measures, so I recommend them more for consumers who require power for mission-critical services versus those who merely enjoy the benefits of their home power for their comfort. While I love having the power on at my house, I have been able to adjust through energy outages, and I thankfully live in an area with underground utility lines and near major businesses that rely on mission-critical power needs, so I have not suffered through too extensive of a power outage at my residence yet. A UPS (uninterrupted power supply) can be handy to keep certain devices online during an outage (such as electronic devices), although I’ve noticed the batteries in these devices don’t last an extended period of time, so they are usually not worth the added investment unless one needs to run mission-critical electronic devices.

In addition to power outages, Internet outages can also occur during a winter weather event, either on its own during freezing temperatures, or during a power outage when power is knocked out to homes without a generator or UPS. In most cases, the ISP’s power will remain up, although power outages at the infrastructure of some ISP equipment has been known to occur (for example, my ISP which is a local point-to-point wireless ISP, has installed a backup generator and dedicated fiber connection at the wireless tower that services my home Internet connection, so my Internet will likely stay up during a power outage, although some of their less-established towers are outfitted with battery backup devices, so occasionally one of their towers could go offline). Cellular connections will generally stay online during major power or Internet outage events. For public safety officials who need mission-critical access to  winter and severe weather data in the event of a major network outage as well as poor cellular coverage or a cellular network outage, I recommend Mobile Threat Net from Baron Weather. Baron Threat Net relies on satellite-driven connection versus an Internet connection, ensuring public safety professionals can continue to receive critical weather data no matter what. Mobile Threat Net also includes a full-suite of Baron’s exclusive weather data, including winter weather monitoring, so it is an ideal solution for public safety professionals.

Consumers who use Internet-based home phone service (as well as a home signal booster) will also notice during a power or Internet outage, the home phone service will be knocked offline. For those who still need some form of affordable Internet-based home phone service, I recommend the LineLink from T-Mobile, as the LineLink (as well as all of T-Mobile voice lines) includes free access to T-Mobile DIGITS, which allows one to receive calls with a single phone number across multiple devices. I personally own a T-Mobile LineLink myself. If my T-Mobile LineLink home phone service is knocked offline, calls are routed to my cell phone, so I’ll never miss an important call.

Here are a few additional tips for ensuring you can continue communicating during a power or home Internet outage:

• Keep all your devices fully charged before a major winter weather event, just in case a power or home Internet outage occurs that requires you to use your mobile devices as your primary means of communication.
• Consider devices such as a tablet, cellular-connected smart watch, mobile hotspot, or your smartphone’s mobile hotspot feature. T-Mobile makes it affordable to add an unlimited tablet or cellular-connected smart watch onto a T-Mobile ONE plan (especially in the months one doesn’t use much cellular data on a tablet with KickBack), and unlimited 3G smartphone mobile hotspot is included with all T-Mobile ONE plans, with affordable options for 10GB or unlimited mobile hotspot for smartphones. T-Mobile DIGITS integration also ensures you can continue to make and receive calls and messages across multiple devices.
• Power off your devices completely when you’re not actively using them in order to save on battery life (since they can still utilize battery during sleep mode), as well as enable your devices’ Battery Saver mode feature. Dimming your screen, limiting which apps you run in the background, and limiting data-intensive apps such as social media apps, streaming music and video apps, and apps that rely on your mobile device’s geolocation services, will also save on battery life. Attempt to only use one device at a time instead of keeping multiple devices powered on and operating to extend battery life across all your devices.
• Use texting over calling when possible, as texting will utilize fewer network resources, extending your device’s battery life, as well as placing less overall strain on the cellular network during a major weather event.
• For extended power outages and on days when the sun peeks from behind the clouds, a solar charger may also be a benefical investment to power up some of your devices, and external battery packs or battery cases can extend battery life in devices as well.

I also highly recommend investing in a solid NOAA weather radio with battery backup to ensure you can continue to receive winter weather-related information. You’ll want a NOAA weather radio with SAME technology. Here is the list of SAME codes for the United States and for Arkansas. For Garland County, use code 005051 and transmitter 162.550. Getting a phone that is WEA (Wireless Emergency Alerts) capable is also recommended, although WEA alerts are not generally sent during winter weather events.

I hope you have enjoyed this series on winter weather safety, and let us know if you have any additiona winter weather safety questions or comments or would like us to cover any additional winter weather safety topics!

That wraps it up here! Nathan Parker signing off.

In Part 4 of our winter weather safety series, I want to take a brief moment to discuss winter weather closings and cancellations. During winter weather events, wintry precipitation can cause winter weather closings, cancellations, and delays, especially of area schools (and on weekends church events).

The best way to keep a track on winter weather closings and cancellations is through your local television stations. For those in central Arkansas, our Little Rock stations KARK 4, KATV 7, THV 11, and FOX 16 each have their own winter weather closings page on their website, as well as the stations will generally run the closings at the bottom of the screen during television broadcasts.

Schools and churches may also offer their own notification service for school students or church members, and I highly recommend checking in with your local school or church you attend to see if they offer such a notification service. A solid notification service I used in a church I served at in Georgia is One Call Now.

That wraps it up here! Nathan Parker signing off.

In Part 3 of our winter weather safety series, we’ll be discussing tracking cold temperatures and winter precipitation. Cold temperatures and winter precipitation are the two major factors of a winter weather event, and it is important to be informed of the some of the best ways to keep a track concerning winter weather.

When it comes to tracking cold temperatures and winter weather precipitation, one of the tools I personally use here on my WeatherTogether blog as well as on social media to power many of the graphics is Baron Threat Net from Baron Weather (I’m using the Public Safety version of Baron Threat Net). With Baron Threat Net, I am able to track temperatures across the state and across the nation (from official NWS reporting locations), as well as track future temperatures up to 96 hours in advance using the Baron temperature model. Baron Threat Net also includes the higest-resolution radar data for the nation that includes winter precipitation tracking, and I can easily query the map data to differentiate between rain, snow, and freezing precipitation. I also have access to FutureScan which allows me to project the radar and winter radar up to an hour in advance, ideal for knowing if a winter weather event is imminent or how long the winter weather event is going to last. For longer-range winter weather tracking, I can use the forecast precipitation (which is a FutureCast radar model with winter precipitation tracking) and snow accumulation models as part of the Baron model to track winter conditions up to 96 hours in advance. Below are some sample screenshots of Baron Threat Net showing a winter radar map, FutureScan winter radar map, forecast precipitation model map, snow accumulation model map, and current and future temperatures maps.

Baron Threat Net also offers text messaging and email alerts as a part of their patented SAF-T-NET alerting service for public safety officials, which are extremely beneficial because in addition to NWS alerts, Baron Threat Net also offers exclusive proximity alerts when snow or freezing precipitation is arriving, as well as alerts when freezing temperatures occur (the alerts are currently static, however, so one cannot customize the temperature threshold or the distance of approaching winter precipitation). Baron Threat Net also includes its own mobile app (although alerts are currently email or text message-based only). For those interested in taking a free trial of Baron Threat Net to take a test drive of some the same tools I use for tracking winter weather, please contact Cliff Windham on the public safety team. Consumers can access the same SAF-T-NET alerting features, as well as the high resolution winter radar, 1 hour FutureScan, current temperature map, and Baron forecast model for forecast precipitation using the Baron Critical Weather app for iOS and Android.

Another tool I use for tracking cold temperatures as well as winter precipitation that powers some of the graphics on my WeatherTogether blog and social media posts is Sferic Maps from Earth Networks. I handle IT consulting for Earth Networks, and I am pleased to be part of their team. Where Earth Networks shines is in owning the world’s largest live, local weather network (in fact, Baron Threat Net above uses Earth Networks for its lightning data provider). I can access weather station data from practically anywhere in the world, and across the nation. Earth Networks offers live, local weather stations in neighborhood locations such as schools, government facilities, resorts, etc., which allows me to track weather conditions from a larger variety of professional-grade weather stations that update live versus just looking at NWS stations which are generally located at airports. During winter weather, having the additional data points is extremely beneficial for tracking winter temperatures, as well as the winter precipitation radar layer in Sferic Maps utilizes the Earth Networks weather network’s temperature data to accurately fine-tune where rain and winter precipitation is falling (the drawback is Sferic Maps only utilizes Level III for NEXRAD radar which refreshes more slowly and isn’t the higher-resolution of Baron’s Level II NEXRAD radar; I’d love to see Baron and Earth Networks team up to deliver a nationwide Level II radar mosaic which factors in the Earth Networks temperature data fine-tuning as it would be an ideal winter precipitation tracking solution). Below are a couple of sample maps from Sferic Maps showing a temperatures map as well as winter precipitation radar map.

Earth Networks also includes its own alerting service in its mobile app, Sferic Mobile (the alerts are available in a mobile app unlike Baron Threat Net, plus its proximity alerts can be customized to a particular temperature threshold or lightning distance, however, Baron SAF-T-NET offers a greater range of proximity alerts for severe and winter weather that are not available in Sferic Mobile, so each service has its own advantages and disadvantages). For enterprise customers interested in taking a test drive of Sferic Maps and Sferic Mobile and putting some of the same tools I use for tracking winter weather to the test, please contact the Earth Networks sales team. For consumers interested in weather alerting applications that take advantage of Earth Networks weather data (in addition to Baron Critical Weather above which uses Earth Networks data for lightning alerts), I recommend checking out the Weather Radio app by WDT (which is similar to a pocket version of a NOAA Weather Radio), as well as WeatherBug, which in addition to weather alerts also offers the same winter precipitation radar layer discussed above as well as a temperature maps layer and exclusive live current conditions from the Earth Networks weather network. WeatherBug also includes access to ENCast from Earth Networks which allows consumers to track accurate hourly forecasts for virtually any area around the world (enterprises can also contact Earth Networks sales directly to learn more about ENCast).

Additional model maps I have access to for tracking cold temperatures and winter weather are the WSI RPM model which I will check in tandem with the Baron forecast models to get an overall picture of each winter weather event, as well as for access to other model maps such as the GFS and NAM models, I use our own in-house model maps page here at WeatherTogether. The WSI RPM model isn’t publicly accessible (since it is proprietary), but the public can access our in-house model maps page here at WeatherTogether for free, and we have additional model datasets coming in the works, so stay tuned for more. Below are a few sample maps from the WSI RPM model (4K) showing future winter precipitation, snow accumulation, and temperatures, plus a sample temperature model map from our in-house model maps page here at WeatherTogether. Two drawbacks I have with the WSI RPM model maps is they only cap off at regional level, whereas with the Baron model maps I can zoom into state level, plus the Baron model maps are overall more accurate than the WSI RPM model maps in my testing (the Baron model maps currently are at 5K resolution, and I would like to see them eventually upgrade the resolution to either 4K or even better 3K).

I also recommend consumers check with their local government officials to see if they offer a government alerts service. For residents of the city of Hot Springs (as well as most residents in Garland County), the service is CodeRED (free for residents). CodeRED offers phone call and email alerts to city residents, and while they do not specifically cover winter weather alerts (only severe weather alerts), if there are specific messages from city officials that residents should be aware of during a winter weather events, CodeRED is likely the alerting medium city officials would use. I recommend all Hot Springs residents signup for the service.

Cold temperatures can also cause a strain on the energy grid as well as elevated energy bills during the winter months as customers use more energy to power their heating systems. Consumers should check with their local energy providers to see if their local energy providers have enrolled in an energy-saving service such as Connected Savings by Whisker Labs (Whisker Labs uses Earth Networks weather data to power its intelligence and was formerly a subsidiary of Earth Networks). Connected Savings works with smart thermostats and smart-home systems such as SmartThings to create a thermodynamic model of a customer’s home, as well as creates an energy ScoreCard to show consumers how the weather is affecting their energy usage (weather is the number one driver of home energy use and responsible for up to 50% of a home’s total energy usage). Connected Savings also offers demand response to ensure homes stay warm, energy bills remain lowered, and the power grid isn’t overtaxed during extreme weather conditions such as winter weather events (at the moment, Entergy Arkansas who powers many Arkansas homes, is not a member of the Connected Savings by Whisker Labs program at the moment, but I have suggested it to Entergy Arkansas, and I hope they will join the program sometime).

Cold temperatures can also cause issues with pipes freezing and bursting during winter weather events. I highly recommend watching this video segment from our local station KARK4 News in Little Rock, Arkansas, to learn more about protecting your pipes during winter weather events. You’ll be thankful for not having to endure frozen, bursting pipes, your plumber will thank you for not having a mess on his hands, and your home insurance provider will be thankful that you don’t need to make a home insurance claim.

Last of all, here are a few additional tips from the National Weather Service concerning how to prepare one’s home Before the Storm and what to do During the Storm during a winter weather event.

Before the Storm

Your primary concerns at home or work during a winter storm are loss of heat, power and telephone service and a shortage of supplies if storm conditions continue for more than a day. In either place, you should have available:

• Flashlight and extra batteries
• Battery-powered NOAA Weather Radio and portable radio to receive emergency information
• Extra food and water such as dried fruit, nuts and granola bars, and other food requiring no cooking or refrigeration.
• Extra prescription medicine
• Baby items such as diapers and formula
• First-aid supplies
• Heating fuel: refuel before you are empty; fuel carriers may not reach you for days after a winter storm
• Emergency heat source: fireplace, wood stove or space heater, properly ventilated to prevent a fire
• Fire extinguisher, smoke alarm; test smoke alarms once a month to ensure they work properly
• Extra pet food and warm shelter for pets
• Review generator safety. You should never run a generator in an enclosed space
• Make sure your carbon dioxide detector is working detector and that the outside vent is clear of leaves and debris. During or after the storm, make sure it is cleared of snow.
• Home fires are common each winter when trying to stay warm. Review ways to keep your home and loved ones safe.

During the Storm

Stay Inside: When using heat from a fire place, wood stove, space heater, etc., use fire safeguards and properly ventilate. If you have a gas furnace, make sure it is not not blocked by a snowdrift as soon as it’s safe to go out. If you have an upstairs gas furnace which vents out the roof, you may need to turn off the upstairs unit until the snow melts off your roof.

If Your Heat Goes Out

• Close off unneeded rooms to avoid wasting heat.
• Stuff towels or rags in cracks under doors.
• Close blinds or curtains to keep in some heat.
• Eat and drink. Food provides the body with energy for producing its own heat. Drinks lots of water and other non-caffeinated, non-alcholohic drinks to prevent dehydration. Cold air is very dry.
• Wear layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing. Remove layers to avoid overheating, perspiration and subsequent chill.

That wraps it up here! Nathan Parker signing off.