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Big plans for the weekend? Holiday parties around town? If you are traveling this weekend, be prepared for some serious winter weather headed our way. Our friends north of the border are sending us the chills.

The weather forecasts are showing a cold blast from British Columbia coming down that will bring snow and temperatures down to the daytime 30s and nighttime 20s. And that’s in the Puget Sound lowlands. As you head up the mountains, toward Eastern Washington or down to south central part of the state, we are talking significant snowfall, lows in the teens and highs in the 20s.

That’s just plain cold. For drivers, first and foremost, slow down. Ice and snow, take it slow. And, be prepared. Look at our winter checklist of ways to prepare your car for winter driving. There are also some great tips on driving in snow and ice.

Bookmark our site to make sure you can get the latest road conditions. We will also be talking to the media to keep everyone up to date.

Our partners at Washington’s Emergency Management Department have some winter readiness tips for the home and office.

From WEMD today: “The approach of the season’s first cold spell means it is good time to review emergency preparedness for homes, businesses and schools,” said Jim Mullen, director, Washington Emergency Management Division (WEMD). Preparedness information is available at:
http://www.emd.wa.gov/preparedness/prep_travel_preparedness.shtml
http://www.emd.wa.gov/preparedness/prep_infocus_winter.shtml

The past two winter seasons also have produced a series of tragic carbon monoxide deaths involving the improper use of generators and charcoal burners for home cooking or heating. Take the time to watch WEMD’s Generator Safety/Carbon Monoxide video at: http://www.emd.wa.gov/preparedness/videos/video_generatorsafety.shtml.

Carbon monoxide poisoning and generator safety fact sheets are available at:
http://emd.wa.gov/preparedness/CarbonMonoxideDanger.shtml
http://emd.wa.gov/preparedness/GeneratorSafety.shtml

Also, it may be a good idea to make sure you know your office, school and daycare snow and ice policies. This time, the real cold stuff shouldn’t start until Friday and we should be back to a normal winter trend by Monday (which still means cool temps and snow in the mountains). But, winter weather is unpredictable and it’s a good idea to have that info handy.