Be Prepared for Winter Weather
It's December and we've had some chilly days, but so far no snow or ice. But rest assured, Cook Children's is preparing to help make sure that facilities are ready to handle winter weather if it arrives so that patients can be served and employees can get to work safely.
We monitor weather forecasts closely and if unsafe road and weather conditions exist, we will activate plans for staff to stay in between shifts.
For now, it's a good idea for you to think about how you and your family can be prepared for winter weather.
Here are some tips and resources.
Create an emergency plan
This plan should include an alternative plan for childcare or pet care, if applicable, if you can’t make it home immediately.
Make sure you know important phone numbers in case your phone battery runs out of power, such as your child’s school, emergency contacts, and/or neighbors.
Prepare your home for inclement weather.
- Seal windows and doors
- Check your heating systems
- Insulate exposed pipes and install outdoor faucet covers
- Build an at-home emergency kit
- Stock up on bottled water and nonperishable foods
- Test smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm batteries
Sign up for emergency alerts
- Sign up for emergency alerts for your home and work area.
- Check road conditions at Drive Texas
- Tarrant County Emergency alerts: Sign up here
- Fort Worth CodeRED Mobile Alerts: Sign up here
- Prosper Smart911: Sign up here
- Lubbock alerts: Sign up here
- Denton alerts: Sign up for Alert Denton here.
When cold weather hits, here are some tips to protect your home:
- Open cabinets under sinks to let your house’s heat warm the pipes.
- Let faucets drip from the cold and hot taps or run water through your indoor faucets – hot and cold -- before you go to sleep.
- If your pipes freeze, turn off the water at the shutoff valve. This prevents broken pipes from leaking into your house after they thaw.
- Make sure any other residents of your house know to never use a generator, camp stove, charcoal grill, gasoline or propane heater indoors and to never heat a home by using the stovetop or oven.