Last November, right around Thanksgiving, my area got hit with a nasty blizzard.
No one was expecting such severe weather so early in the year.
I hadn’t even finished raking up the fall leaves or put the lawn mower away for the season. All of my family’s winter clothes were still packed away, and I hadn’t bought rock salt yet. The outside temperature dropped from fifty degrees to fifteen in a matter of hours. We experienced high winds and accumulated several feet of snow overnight. Since I didn’t get the opportunity to have the furnace professionally serviced, I was worried about the heating system keeping up with demand. I changed the air filter, cleaned the vents and hoped for the best. We ended up going without heat for several days because the power went out. Without electricity, my family had no access to lights, running water, internet or heating. We couldn’t even plug in space heaters or huddle under electric blankets. We lit candles, bundled up in layers of sweaters and considered driving to a hotel. Since there was a driving ban in effect, I was reluctant to brave the icy roads. It was a miserable experience and I’m lucky my water pipes didn’t freeze. I don’t ever want to be left without a working furnace again. As soon as we got the power back and the weather straightened up, I contacted a local HVAC contractor for service. Along with maintenance for the furnace, I got a quote for the installation of a backup generator. Although the generator was super expensive, I’m now prepared for a power outage.