How To Stay Safe During A Winter Storm

Posted December 21, 2022

(KTTS News) — Springfield-Greene County Emergency Management and other public agencies are offering some tips to stay safe during Thursday’s historic winter storm.

Press Release

With 2-4 inches of snow and historic -30-degree wind chills predicted for Thursday through Saturday, several public agencies gathered Tuesday to remind Springfield-area residents how they can prepare for and stay safe during severe winter weather.

Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management Director Larry Woods reminded residents that preparedness is key ahead of severely cold weather.

“Make sure residences and vehicles are winterized, because as we know, nothing works well when it’s this cold. Consider modifying your travel plans and definitely limit your exposure to this weather. Frostbite and hypothermia can happen very quickly,” he said.

Roadways and utilities

The City’s Public Works Department and MODOT will have snowplow trucks loaded with salt and prepared to treat roadways for this winter weather event. The agencies will watch the forecast and will pretreat roadways as long as rain is not forecasted prior to the snow. The agencies encourage residents to stay home and off the roadways if at all possible. City Utilities’ spokesman Joel Alexander said CU crews will be on-site and ready to respond rapidly to outages.

Home heating safety

The Springfield Fire Department reminded the public of steps to take to stay safe during the coming winter weather, and during the winter months:

Install working smoke alarms on every level of the home, outside each sleeping area, and in every bedroom.
Install and test carbon monoxide alarms at least once a month.
Never leave a space heater unattended.
Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet from any heat source like fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators, or space heaters.
Plug only one heat-producing appliance (such as a space heater) directly into an electrical outlet at a time. DO NOT use power strips or surge protectors.
If using kerosene space heaters, use in a well-ventilated area, use only 1-K fuel, and never fuel your heater indoors, while the heater is in operation, or is still hot from operation.
Turn space heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
Have a qualified professional clean and inspect your chimney and vents every year.
Store cooled ashes from your fireplace in a tightly covered metal container and keep it outside at least 10 feet from your home and any nearby buildings.

Crisis Cold Weather Shelters

Community Partnership of the Ozarks Vice President Michelle Garand said the number of crisis cold weather shelters is doubling Thursday-Saturday in light of the forecast. Use the sheltersgf app for up-to-the-minute updates on shelter availability, visit https://cpozarks.org/programs/ccws/ or follow the Crisis Cold Weather Shelter Updates Facebook group.

There are six overnight shelters in Springfield that open when temperatures are predicted to be 32 degrees or colder. The Connecting Grounds’ church building serves as an overnight shelter for four families every night through April, regardless of the temperature.

Those needing shelter should come to Grace United Methodist Church at 600 S. Jefferson Ave. between 5 and 6 p.m. A hot meal is provided and buses will transport to the shelters at 6:30 p.m. The shelters and their capacities are listed below.

East Sunshine Church of Christ can serve up to 50 men.
Grace United Methodist Church can serve up to 20 women.
Asbury United Methodist Church can serve up to 35 individuals and pets.
Unity of Springfield Church can serve up to 22 individuals.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church can serve up to 25 men.
Eden Village I community building can serve up to 25 individuals and pets.

In light of the forecast, the following churches have agreed to serve as supplemental shelters Thursday-Saturday.

Those needing overnight shelter during that time period should come to Grace United Methodist Church at 600 S. Jefferson Ave. between 5 and 6 p.m. A hot meal is provided and buses will transport to the shelters at 6:30 p.m. The shelters and their capacities are listed below. Some of the shelters will be open for daytime shelter as well.

St. John’s Chapel at 4344 S. Fremont Ave., will serve as an all-gender shelter for up to 15 people Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Brentwood Christian Church at 1900 E. Barataria St. will serve as an all-gender shelter for up to 20 individuals and pets. Brentwood will allow them to stay during the day on Friday and Saturday.
425 (The Venues) at 425 W. Walnut will serve as an all-gender shelter for up to 20 on Thursday and Saturday nights.

Foster Adopt Connect’s Youth Connect Center, 425 W. McDaniel, will serve as a shelter for up to eight 13-18-year-olds. Check into the center by 8 p.m.

Three additional locations have agreed to serve as shelters and are awaiting inspection and approval by the City’s Building Development Services Department and Springfield Fire Department.

Springfield-Greene County Health Department will provide COVID prevention kits to area overnight cold weather shelters. These kits will help reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses within shelters. If you need access to these kits, please contact the Health Department at 417-874-1212.