We have a foot of snow right now in northern NY...>>>  Lives closer to Canada than NYC.  Snow could be here until April.

I've been reading the thread.

I have lots of warm weather clothing, and lots of blankets. The house I bought last week is very well insulated. Was mainly looking for alternatives in case power goes out.

To one of the guys above... I don't really care if you live in Northern Wi. I've been south central my entire life. Not a huge deal to me that your winter sucks more.

Looks like I'll be investing in some propane heaters after some quirks in the house are worked out. The bed tent is a good idea as well.

The neighbors seem to have a wood burning fireplace, might be wise to make friends with them.

Quoted:
How does one bug out when it is the dead middle of winter and the grid goes down including snow plowing services?

It is called Bug-In!


I heard natural gas still works when the power goes out, any truth to that? The house i'm buying is boiler heated, so there's a possibility of using a gas powered generator to run the boiler if the gas still works.

Depending on your area they may go out together.  Around here I have not seen both go out at home but have seen both go out in an industrial area nearby.

I figure eventually I will get a wood burning stove on the property.

What are you waiting on?  Wood is often free.

What do you guys know about winter survival?

Little to nothing to Oh My God, I have never heard of that!  Stick around and read the wisdom, you will see.

You should be fine with a starter kit of two or three kerosene towers and stored fuel.

Buy the towers at garage sales.  Buy a new wick and they’re usually as good as new.

A big buddy and a few tanks from your bbq grill will work short term too.

I have a kerosene tower and a wood stove.

ETA yea and bugging out for winter?   Pffffft  not in my plans unless it’s permanently to the south.  

My winter survival Bug-In Kit:

"like"  

Mine is similar less the fancy looking "wood shed" insert a hobo pole bard...  Take away the full size tractor and insert an old garden one...  A few old pics:

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My pole barn and shed situation is much more organized this year.  I will have to see if I can find a recent pic.

ETA:

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A few more rows of wood were added right to the roof.  Left just enough room to get the tractor with snowblower backed in there.  Left the cab off this year, seems it adds to much top heavy weight.  I think it goes better without it and just the wheel weights and chains.

You may need to drain down the bathrooms to avoid frozen pipes.
I isolated each "wet area" with ball valves and bleeders.
We have a full basement bathroom that stays kinda warm on it's own.
Even a small Honda generator will efficiently run your boiler/pumps and igniter.
As house cools, restart the boiler.
Food can be stored in the garage or porch.
Candles with a back-shield made of tin foil throw added light.
We buy our candles in bulk at Ikea.
Get used to bundling up indoors.
Learn to love pot luck soups.

and this is why i have a wood stove. know how to use it. and service it.

If you want to try winter survival, try winter camping.  I've been out in northern PA with the kid in a tent at 5 below.  Our boots froze to the floor..

Dress for it.  Polypropylene long John's, a good middle layer, and a windproof shell will get you thru.  You can double up two 30* sleeping bags and stay comfortable at 0*.  Not recommending it, just saying it works.

Bugging in?  You can simply rig your oil furnace to plug into an outlet by replacing the existing wire connecting it to the junction box with 14/2 SJO and install a receptacle where the junction box is.  Boilers require little power. They may be on a 15 amp circuit but likely draw about 8 amps running.  Rig it up with a plug and run an extension cord.

I'd run a diesel generator as you already have fuel.  I am leery of anything Chinese so l would look for a used diesel generator.  Find out what brand your local gen shop carries and buy that brand. Parts..  have backup heat for your backup heat, and have a couple of fire extinguishers on hand and a garden hose hooked up and ready to go in the basement.  A generator to run the furnace and water pump, wood stove and kerosene heaters will keep you warm as long as fuel lasts.

Get a four wheel drive truck and buy tire chains for all four.  Practice installing the chains.  I've bucked thru six foot drifts with such a rig, it is pretty hard to stop. Keep fuel in it and use a block heater as long as you have line power, and park it away from the house.  Not.much good to have it in an attached garage if the house catches fire.

You have gotten some good advice here..

After being a long time WNY lake effect snow survivor... I am now in the SC upstate. We are expecting a weather event this weekend, it is strange how few all season preppers there are in my AO.  Snow and Ice is expected to start tomorrow and last through monday... expected power outages.  this will be the first real snowfall since I moved here 2 1/2 years ago.  I spent the last few days  making sure I can survive a few days up to a week easily with no heat or power. food and water are no issue... keeping us and the dogs warm is doable... hot showers will be out of the question as everything here is run on electricity.
a situation like this always puts me to the test and quickly reminds me that no matter how prepared I think I am... the unexpected always happens.

Gas works here when the power is out. Shtf in the great frozen tundra would suck.

I have to chime in, first take steps before someone forces you to surrender your Wisconsin card. I live in SW on the southern border of the Driftless area.  1.9 acres is plenty to have a garden.

Notice 1000 propane tank in background. 7KW keeps the well pumping and heat / refrigeration depending on season running. Used 1% of 800 gallons in 24 hour summer run.  DR plan is more cyclical than full time.
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Notice rear tires. Chains should be considered a must have in this state.
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We can and store most of our own food. Garden plot is 30x50 supplemented with perennials like apples, peaches, grapes and asparagus.
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We burn corn for heat, pellet stove takes about 350w to run. I have it on an old 2000w data center UPS and charge that with an eu1000
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Saint Bernard's will keep you warm all winter long and will feed you for  week in worst case scenario.
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Are you ever concerned about vandalism or otherwise losing all the wood to an unintended fire?

Friends who heat with wood have stacks of wood here and there and more over that a way.  If they own the woods, they usually cut and stack it where the tree was and leave it out there.  Yeah it gets bugs but it means a loss of wood is a small loss.  I have helped my friend out before and he will pull the wood splitter out there and stack it by the atv trail.  Now he has an old used side by side but he has had a rusty old toyota 4x4 and 4 wheelers and now the side by side for bringing wood near the house well before it is needed.

One year ohio had an ice storm, out where I lived, and I was without power 3 days and some odd hours.  Redneck fridge works, coolers were used so no animals could get into food outside.  I stayed home to prove I could.  Chains would have been required to go anywhere.  I was in the country and driveway had an uphill slope for a long portion and I played with vehicle trying to get out.  Once roads were clear neighbor helped me out, I was young and did not have to get out or I would have done so.  Having vehicle as close as possible to cleared pavement and a chain laid out already it took 5 minutes for neighbor on road to gently pull vehicle out of driveway.

I was one of the last to get power but as they restored power it would kick on for 5 to 10 minutes and then go out again.  I let it run the well pump and what not but unplugged computers and stuff.

Next year I had no ice, but parents did.  Sister had awd suv thing with car tires and it could not get past the hump from the snow plow at the edge of the parents driveway.  It took a mattox to break through ice.  There was snow then sleet so snow had like an inch of ice on it.  I am a big guy and could walk on it without breaking through.  I had a hand me down awd oldsmobile bravada thing I put mud tires on.  Mud tires were aggressive enough to break through ice.  I went in and got dad's suv working, it had an inch of ice on it and many people broke door handles and windows and stuff trying to get into vehicles.  Parents had power within 24 hours I think.  Sister had headed that way cause she was not prepared for anything.

She got annoyed the junker hand me down with mud tires could play in ice, her new fancy awd suv with car tires could not.

You don't need a tent bed.  Set up a tent in the house, or as tj said hang sheets or blankets in door ways and just heat that room.  Grandma's house has radiators and it has some sort of antifreeze for the liquid but I sure the heck would make sure it did not have a chance to freeze.

Back to my 3 day power outage, I mostly went out to wander around and visit the local "everything" shop.  This guy had a couple gas pumps and was the closest store to us, he had a tiny meat counter inside and just had a tiny grocery store sort of.  More expensive than driving to wally world, but closer and was a good guy.  He needed change, he was letting folks he knew run a tab in some cases.  I dug out a bunch of rolls of quarters and ones and fives and while I did not do more than buy a couple sammiches and what not I swapped him a bunch of change.  He always remembered that and it was no biggy to me but the banks were still closed and there was very limited power in the area and the roads still sucked.

This was rural, he would trade stuff as well and was just always hearing of deals and what not.  I did not grow up in the area and was an outsider to them, but bringing all those small bills helped them know I was willing to help some if I could.  And within in a week the banks and stuff were back to normal.

When the east coast grid crashed in the 2000s did we still have natural gas ? I honestly cant remember.   My wife and the womenfolk neighbors usually cooked on a bbq while the guys stayed up all night to discourage rif raf. We all lived on the same small city block. That was a good group of people.

Not jumping on the dogpile here, but heads-particularly for people that have short haircuts- have little insulation from hair or fat, and a lot of vasculature right under the skin. They do radiate a lot more heat than your thigh or side. 80% heat loss from your head might be accurate if you are taking about a person that is otherwise clothed properly. Right or wrong, your head is something worth protecting if for no other reason than to avoided frostbite of the nose and ears,

In MI, been through numerous winter power outages in the suburbs over the years (while living in different places). Fortunately, the longest outages were only 5 days (2 different places).

In the middle of a MI winter, in weather bad enough for widespread outages though, indoor temps can drop fast.

Several things I've learned over the years, for bugging in:

- if you don't already tape over all the windows for the winter, do that. You lose quite a bit of heat through the windows (especially bad with older windows). You can get the clear plastic specifically for it at any hardware store (or Walmart) in the snowbelt.

- if you don't use kerosene much, and don't want to deal with buying a kerosene heater and storing kerosene you might not use, Big Buddy heaters are a great emergency option. Indoor safe, work well, easily portable and mobile and can be run off 20lbs BBQ propane tanks (great if you already have a propane grill, i.e. you're already using the propane, so it's not just sitting).

- if using candles, place them on a can of tuna, sitting in a large white/stainless bowl/pan/pot partially filled with water. The water and container reflect more light up towards the ceiling. If the candle gets knocked over, it falls in the water and is extinguished. A lot of house fires during power outages, are from lit candles.

- camping stoves work great for cooking/heating food during a power outage. The ones that use propane, can be run off the BBQ tanks with adapters,  adding flexibility. I also taught myself to make double walled alcohol stoves from aluminum pop cans with just my Swiss Army Knife. Cheap, easily available fuel is HEET in the yellow bottles, available at most gas stations and Walmarts.

- warm clothing + coverings are a big help. Really good warm clothing is also vital for outdoor use (or bugging out). Same thing goes for winter sleeping bags. A bag rated for winter camping will easily keep you warm indoors.

- depending on how cold it gets indoors, either leave all taps dripping, to reduce the chance of frozen pipes (that will crack, and flood your place when they thaw), or find the lowest point in your plumbing, shut off the water mains, and completely drain the plumbing if there's a risk of extended below freezing temps. This is one of the benefits of the mobility of the Big Buddy Heaters. You can move them around to various areas to keep things from freezing.

- water. If the water can keep running, good. If not, you want to have the means to store water. The feasibility of this depends on how much space you have, and whether you're in an apartment or house. Scepter or NATO 5 gallon water cans can be moved if needed.  You need to figure out the household emergency water consumption to determine how much to store. Use bleach, or Aquamira to keep stored water potable. You can also find the waterBOB bathtub type bags online. You have to fill these in anticipation of a water supply interruption though.

- A way to filter the water intended for consumption is always a good idea. Necessary for potential bug out situations too. I like Sawyer filters, but in cold weather, these CANNOT be allowed to freeze (they will crack the tiny hollowfiber lines, compromising the filter). For winter camping, disconnect the filter itself and store it in a ziplock type bag, inside your jacket (or sleeping bag, when you're in it) to prevent it freezing.

Bugging out

Bugging out is a much more dangerous proposition in winter conditions. If at all possible, bugging in will be preferable.

If you HAVE to bug out (not to a hotel or friends/relatives place), you're going to need some serious gear and knowledge to not put yourself in serious danger.

Any gear needs to be tested in the most severe conditions you may encounter. Winter camping where you can easily bail, if you find deficiencies in your gear/abilities, is one way to go. If you live in a house with a backyard (or anywhere you have the ability to set up a tent), do that over a weekend or 2.

Choose weekends when there are forecasts for crappy conditions (really cold for your AO, or/and lots of snow etc.). Gear that is fine at 40f, can potentially kill you when it's -25f (and depending on where you are in WI, it could get down to -40 to -50f temps). In those temps, alcohol/propane/butane sucks. White gas stoves are the way to go.

You can do this semi regularly, refining deficiencies and equipment choices, while having the ability to quickly bail if you/your preps aren't up to it.

There are already numerous threads on what to keep in vehicles for winter emergencies. This will be on top of actual camping gear.

Stove tents made for woodburning stoves can keep a tent warmer than most other options, but even a good doublewalled 4-season/expedition tent can be warmer than a steel bodied vehicle. In extreme conditions though, you'd need to know how/where to set up the tent, and possibly need to know where to set it up to use a natural windbreak, or build one with snowblocks.

Lots of good info here are some unmentioned things I think are worth noting.

Wood if you have a free source is the most economic long term heat source.  You can easily store a year of wood.  A year of propane requires quite the tank. A proper wood stove can also cook food and boil water/ make snow into water.

People are talking about transportation and trucks with chains.  True mobility requires skis. Backcountry type cross country are best for your area not the ultra skinny track skis. Snow shoes work too but not in deep powder.

Bugging out. If you really need to do it a big tent with a pipe and smoke billowing out it's probably a bad idea not to mention that gets cold as soon as it runs out of wood. What is the wood source? And what energy is required to chop it down? Learn to live in a snow cave. People see a forest and think fire is easy until they realize the effort to keep it running from a standing forest. Not to mention how are you gonna carry all that shit.

Clothing base layers. 100% merino wool. All I use for ski mountaineering base layers.

Underwear. Cotton underwear can literally kill you in these conditions.  You need full synthetic.

Winter is my playground

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Liked your post, but:

Seriously? In Oregon? Maybe in northern Michigan, or the U.P.

1. You lack an understanding of the state geography. We have mountains that people die on every year. I have gone backcountry skiing here in June.

2. The west is humid which tests gear even harder.  When I'm in UT or other dry areas I use cooler gear.

3. I have done winter in Alaska etc. As well. -55 is known to me.

I now am renting a place with natural gas.  I would own propane if it was my place cause I prefer to have my supply in my control.

The big news several years ago, and maybe even a decade ago, was that natural gas was changing some of their pumping stations or whatever from being generator that ran on natural gas over to grid power.

In the past, if power was out natural gas worked.  Only thing that caused issue was repairs when someone dug up a line or something.

Now, not so much.

It is more cost effective for them to be on grid power, but I have dealt with someone digging up a line and breaking it and causing a problem for a while before.  I think it was fixed in just several hours but it left an impression on me as a kid.  Hot water ran out.

I like the propane heaters for quick heat and quick shutdown with no smell.  The kerosene tower heaters are reserved for when I will be around for the day.

I heated a place with just portable propane and kerosene tower heaters for a few winters and anything can be done.  This was east tn so not super duper cold but well below freezing a lot.

If you have to hike around in the cold and snow you will need to layer your cloths.  Walking in the snow will burn a ton of energy and if you are wearing a heavy down coat, as a few have suggested, you will be hot and sweaty in no time.  I started using a down puffy coat while winter hunting. Covered with a wind/waterproof shell, I'll leave the down in my pack until I stop and cool off a bit.  Wet down is as bad as being naked, always be aware that your down must stay dry.

Learn to use snow shoes and get a pair that will hold you and your gear.

We say "you sweat, you die" and"cotton kills"

IE Saint Bernard's pulling your load for you on a sled.

Winter is my home.