Energy giant British Gas says households should stockpile at least three days of drinking water for situations like the one facing almost all of the UK this week. The Met Office has issued a slew of weather warnings for snow and ice, both the more serious amber warnings in Scotland and the regular yellow warnings in almost all of England, and all of Wales and Northern Ireland from today until Tuesday.
The forecaster warned snow could bring travel disruption and power cuts, while some communities could find themselves cut off entirely by the extreme weather conditions. In its guidance to customers on how to prepare for snow, British Gas says that households should stockpile at least three days of drinking water, as well as food, torches, batteries and other essentials. It says: “It’s a good habit to have at least three days’ worth of food and essentials stored in an easy-to-reach part of your home.
“That’s things like medicines, drinking water, non-perishable food and snacks, and extra blankets. You should also keep a torch, batteries and a phone charger close by too.”
It also added that you should keep sleeping bags and blankets at the ready too: “While it’s unlikely that a heavy snowfall will leave you without any heating, it’s always worth keeping sleeping bags, blankets and warm coats handy.”
As well as other issues, snow can cause your boiler to stop working, due to pipes freezing over.
British Gas added: “When it’s really cold outside, your pipes can freeze over – which could lead to a burst pipe. If that happens, you’ll need to shut off the mains water supply as quickly as possible to limit the damage.
“So it’s worth double-checking where your stopcock is before that happens, just in case. It’s usually under the kitchen sink or in a cupboard on an exterior wall.”
The Met Office said in its forecast for Sunday night: “Snow showers continuing for northern Scotland, with wintry showers affecting windward coasts elsewhere. Some patchy snow also moving south across parts of central and southern England and Wales. Otherwise dry, clear and very frosty.”
In its yellow weather warnings, it added: “Ice and snow may cause some disruption to travel overnight and Monday morning.”
And in the more serious amber warning, it said: “Heavy snow showers becoming more frequent which will lead to some travel disruption on Sunday night and Monday morning.”