Six household essentials you need during freezing weather

It’s safe to say the new year has got off to a thoroughly miserable start where the weather is concerned.

With a rare cold weather health warning in place, and a three-day snow warning covering most of the UK, this weekend is likely to be a whiteout.

The Met Office has put several yellow and amber weather warnings in place for rain, wind, ice and snow over the next few days – with the ‘disruptive’ weather potentially causing power cuts, flooding, or even cutting off rural communities.

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With more unpleasant weather yet to come, Brits are being urged to get prepared and ensure they have essential items on hand.

A Met Office spokesperson said: ‘You could be without food, heat or light if you are cut off by snow and can’t access services and amenities for a number of days.

‘Act now and be prepared, by getting the essentials together that you could need.’

Torches, batteries and candles are all useful to keep on hand in case of power cuts, with power banks to keep your devices charged are also handy.

But when it comes to stocking your kitchen, non-perishable foods are the way to go, to ensure you don’t go hungry.

Energy firm Direct Energy recommends making sure your cupboards are stocked with the following food items:

• Bread
• Milk
• Tinned goods, like soups and stews
• Snack foods like crisps, crackers and cookies in sealed packaging
• Cereal and granola
• Dried pasta and jars of sauce

A spokesperson for the firm said: ‘After heavy snowfall or blizzard conditions, you could find yourself snowed in for days.

‘Getting cut off from your local grocery store could be made worse by a prolonged power outage, which would leave you with just a few hours to enjoy the remaining contents of your fridge safely.

‘But if you stock your pantry with filling shelf-stable foods, you won’t go hungry while waiting for the snow to clear.’

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