Winter Survival Guide For Norristown

By JENNIFER TERMAN and JUSTIN HEINZE

As the temperature starts to drop, don’t drop the ball on protecting yourself and your home from the cold this winter.

The Center for Disease Control advises people be ready for winter with these tips:

1. Weatherproof your home: Insulate walls and the attic, caulk and weather-strip doors and windows, have your chimney or flue inspected every year and install a smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector in your home.
2. Prepare yourself for exposure to winter weather: Dress warmly and limit exposure to the cold to prevent frostbite and avoid getting wet to prevent hypothermia.
3. Make sure your car is ready for travel: Check antifreeze level and have radiator system serviced, replace worn tires and check tire air pressure, keep gas tank full to avoid ice in tank and fuel lines, and make a winter emergency kit to keep in your car.
4. Pets: Bring pets indoors as temperatures drop and never leave lit candles or other flames unattended.
5. If power lines are down, call your local utility and emergency services: If power lines fall on your car, warn people not to touch the car or power lines.

Residents of Montgomery County who need shelter during a Code Blue can go to the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center (CHOC) in Building 53 at the Norristown State Hospital grounds

The Salvation Army of Norristown also offers services to those affected by the weather.

Here’s the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend weather forecast for Norristown, courtesy of the National Weather Service:

Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night Rain. Low around 38. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Saturday Rain likely before 8am, then a chance of showers between 8am and 1pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 46. Light northwest wind becoming west 10 to 15 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Saturday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. West wind 7 to 11 mph.

Sunday A slight chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.

M.L.King Day Mostly sunny, with a high near 29.

Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 18.