Lessons learned from an ice storm power outage: how preparedness helped us stay warm, fed, and steady through several days without electricity.
Based on our emergency journal, including reflections on what worked, what didn’t, and why being prepared made all the difference.
Lessons from the Our Ice Storm Journal
In January 2010, an ice storm hit our area and left us without electricity for nearly three days - 68.5 hours, to be exact.
We were as prepared as we could be, and that made all the difference.
While many families were scrambling for supplies and trying to stay warm, we relied on simple tools, old-fashioned cooking methods, and a few modern conveniences. It wasn’t easy; we were cold and tired by the end of it, but we came through it better than most.
I kept a journal during those few days, and I’m sharing it now in case it helps you prepare for the next winter storm, power outage, or other unexpected event.
These aren’t survivalist tips or dramatic tales, just one family doing what needed to be done, using what we had on hand, and staying calm and resourceful when things got uncomfortable.
Ice Storm Journal
Last Thursday we were hit by a heavy ice storm, followed by an additional six inches of snow on Friday. Our power went out on Thursday afternoon, came back on for one hour on Saturday, and went off again for another 16 hours - a total of 68.5 hours without electricity.
The weather service had warned us this was coming, so on Tuesday I drove to town looking for a few specific things: more propane canisters (but the store shelves were bare), some junk food (comfort food for the teenagers), and to top off the car with gas.
Really, we were well-stocked-up even without this trip to town. We had plenty of propane, we had batteries, we had water, lamp oil, feed and hay for the livestock, dog food, and so on. But I had the opportunity to pick a up a few things, and I took advantage of it.
When I got back home, I made bread, did the laundry and the dishes, filled the water jugs, tested the flashlights. I'm a firm believer in having clean dishes and clothes before a storm, just in case!
When the Chief came home from work, I helped him move feed and hay down to the horse barn.
Then the storm hit, and the power went out.
Keeping the livestock warm and fed, and their water thawed so they had plenty to drink, kept us occupied in the aftermath. (Here are some tips to help you keep livestock water from freezing.)
We made it work, relying on what we had on hand
The worst part of being without power was being cold. Our small propane heater wasn't quite up to the job, though it was certainly better than nothing.
At least we could put our gloves in front of it and get them semi-dry before we had to go outside again.
We ate well. We have an electric stove, so of course it and the microwave were unusable.
Instead we used our propane camp stove to make oatmeal for breakfast, heat water, and warm up soup for lunches.
Here's what we ate - and how we cooked it - while the power was out:
- I made lamb stew on Thursday in the crockpot and it was mostly done when the power went off. I transferred it to the straw box cooker as soon as the power went out - while the crock holding the food was still super hot - and the stew was hot and ready when we came inside from the evening chores. We ate it with the homemade bread I'd made before the storm hit.
- On Friday I opened a quart jar of chicken and broth I'd pressure-canned, added a can of white northern beans, some sliced mushrooms and onions I had dehydrated, and spices for white chili. I brought it to a boil on the camp stove, then transferred to the straw box cooker to finish cooking.
- On Saturday we went into town for gasoline for our small generator - at this point the storm was long gone and the roads were decent, we just didn't have power at home. We bought dinner in town and brought it home with us.
- Sunday I'd planned to open two cans of beef stew and warm them up for dinner, but the power came back on, so instead we opened the freezer and inspected our frozen food. I cooked some chicken that felt slightly thawed, and I fried up the "Mexican eggrolls" our daughter had made and frozen a month ago.
The rest of the food in the freezer was still solidly frozen. The refrigerator had to be cleaned out, of course - all that food was given to the pigs and chickens or buried in the compost pile.
Meanwhile, in town...
On Saturday when we went to town, the hardware store was filled with families with dazed looks on their faces.
The shelves were pretty bare. There were propane heaters but no propane; very expensive generators that no one was buying; no fittings to convert a grill-size propane container to a propane heater.
No candles. No D-size batteries. No lamp oil. A case of bottled water was $6.99 (the regular price was $.99 and $1.99). I was so thankful that we did not need any of those things.
They were selling lots of sleds though!
What I learned from our experience
- The straw box cooker worked great! I'll show you how to make one and how to use it here with supplies you probably already have on hand: an ice chest, blankets and a cooking pot with lid that fits inside. By dinnertime our food was hot and ready to eat.
One point to consider: put your cooker together ahead of time and make sure that your pot fits inside. I'd brought in the more narrow ice chest and had a bit of a problem with that. Our larger cooler would have worked better. But this cooker really saves on fuel and worked really well.
- Start early in the afternoon to prepare for the evening, while you still have plenty of light to see. Allow enough time to do outside chores before it gets dark. Gather blankets, candles, flashlights so they are handy.
- Our propane heater uses approximately one canister of fuel per day. This information helped us plan for the future, and we were able to restock our stash knowing how much we'll need.
- Putting food in our uninsulated mudroom worked well as a refrigerator/freezer, so we didn't have to open the appliance doors over and over.
- We did not open the freezers at all, and almost all the food was fine, even after 68+ hours. Our freezers are in that unheated mudroom.
- We knew that our small generator wasn't big enough to handle the freezers (we upgraded to a larger generator the next time we found one on sale) but it provided light in the evenings, charged our cell phones, and so on.
- Fortunately we are book lovers, so we read voraciously to pass the time. No one complained about that part.
What I’m Thankful We Had
- A propane heater (not perfect, but it was far better than nothing)
- A straw box cooker - truly a fuel-saving game-changer
- Home-canned meals and shelf-stable ingredients
- Water jugs filled ahead of time
- Lamp oil, batteries, and flashlights
- A lap cat to help keep me warm
We didn’t panic. We just kept doing what needed to be done, using what we had, and figured things out as we went. I’ve always been someone who thinks ahead, asks “what if?” and then tries to be ready for it.
What I Wished We'd Had
- A larger propane heater
- Extra pairs of gloves for everyone, so we could rotate them and allow the wet pair to dry out longer before they were needed again.
- A backup way to keep the refrigerator and freezers cold (ie, a larger generator)
- More non-electric activities to keep the teenagers occupied. I told them we could work ahead on their homeschool assignments, but they did manage to keep themselves entertained without resorting to schoolwork!
- A better-insulated house! Being cold was the hardest part
Looking back, I’m so thankful we were prepared. We weren’t perfectly comfortable - we were cold but we had plenty of blankets, and the teenagers needed more to do - but we were okay.
We had what we needed, we stayed calm, and we got through it without panic.
That ice storm was one of the moments that really cemented my belief in being ready ahead of time. Not just with food, water and fuel, but with the important stuff too: knowing where things are, having plans in place, and being able to move forward with what needed to be done.
It’s one of the reasons I created the SafeHarbor Emergency Binder System.
It’s a printable, fillable system that helps you gather and organize all your important information - all your personal information, insurance policies, financial information, pet records, and even your final wishes - all in one place. It’s designed to give you peace of mind during everyday disruptions or life’s bigger storms.
If you’ve ever thought, “I really should get this stuff in order,” the SafeHarbor Emergency Binder System will walk you through it step by step. It’s a gift to your future self, and to the people you love.
All in all, we weathered this ice storm well, but I was sure glad to have our power back again. What did I do first? I vacuumed the floor.
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Kathi Rodgers is the gardener and writer behind Oak Hill Homestead (est. 2009) and the host of HOMEGROWN: Your Backyard Garden Podcast. With over 30 years of gardening experience in a variety of climates and soils, she helps new and aspiring gardeners grow healthy, organic food right in their own backyards.
A passionate advocate for simple, self-reliant living, Kathi is the author of multiple ebooks, a published magazine contributor, and shares practical advice with readers who want real-life solutions they can trust. She was also the publisher and editor of a long-running subscription newsletter (on an entirely different topic: cats).
Kathi lives in Oklahoma, where she grows more cherry tomatoes than she can count and keeps a watchful eye on tornado season. A proud grandma and great-grandma, she believes that wisdom - like a bountiful garden harvest - should be shared.
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