What's Your Best Bad Weather Survival Tips?

[Jane Louise]

Ok,I know we don't get to experience much bad weather over here in the UK but how would you cope if we did experience nasty weather like other countries do!

Be it :

Storms, Rain, Lightening, Sleet, Hail:

Heat:

Flooding:

Tornado:

High Winds:

Heavy snow,Blizzards:

What about camping and hiking?

The first thing you need to do if bad weather strikes is size up your surroundings. Is there any shelter nearby – a cave or rock overhang -- where you could take refuge from rain or lightning?

Is it snowing or hailing? How hard is the wind blowing? Do you have streams you must cross to get back to camp?

Cold is a far greater threat to survival than it appears. It decreases your ability to think and weakens your will to do anything except to get warm.

[snow raven]

Stay indoors! :lol:

[Jane Louise]

Ahh yeah, stayin indoors! but even that can be dangerous regarding tornadoes, getting snowed in amongst many other things!!

[Coast]

Interesting article from Dave Pearce, author of Haynes' Outdoor Survival Manual.

Most of us know what to do if we get stranded in a Bolivian jungle following an aircraft accident, right? Having seen Bear Grylls and Ray Mears ply their trades, it's simply a matter of making a hammock out of frogs and fashioning a hat from a pair of underpants to screen out the incessant blaze of the sun. But while TV has notionally equipped us with the nous to survive in the desert, jungle or Arctic circle, TV shows tend to less clear on what to do if you're stranded in your car by bad weather closer to home. With the country struggling again under particularly cold weather and drifting snow, reports of people trapped in their cars for hours or even days at a time have made the news.

While the prospect of being snowed in on a motorway is bad enough, the potential for getting stuck in drifting snow with a dying battery and cooling car on a remote B-road is very real for some, and potentially lethal at that. To help, we've sought advice from survival expert and former marine Dave Pearce, who was worked the Bruce Parry and the aforementioned Grylls, having previously scaled Everest's North Face, crossed Greenland and spent more than three months at a time on expeditions with no communication to the outside world. Dave outlines some of the basics that are relevant to survival for motorists and travellers either stranded or preparing for journeys in the UK's current sub-zero temperatures:

Preparing for winter journeys - clothing and equipment

* Keep a good hat in the car, one that covers the ears. A great deal of body heat is lost through the head.

* Wear mittens rather than gloves, which allow heat to circulate around the fingers

* Protect nose and face with a scarf

* Wear lots of thinner layers rather than two thick layers. Wear baggy clothing that allows warm air to be trapped between layers.

* Wear thermal insoles in boots and two pairs of socks. The cold ground sucks heat down through the soles

* Carry 2 litres of water in the car, insulated in a flask. Pre-heat flasks before filling so the contents stay hot longer and if necessary wrap the flask to insulate further

* Pack cereal / muesli bars that won't freeze. Mars bars etc will freeze solid and take almost as much energy to eat as they provide

Moving on foot in deep snow

Stranded motorists are advised not to leave their vehicles, but the following advice advises on moving through difficult conditions, should it become necessary.

* When moving up hill kick in with the toe and keep your heel slightly higher than your toes

* When moving downhill adopt an almost sitting position with your backside over the back of your heels, Use your body weight to drive the heel into the snow, keeping the toes slightly higher than the heel

Walking on hard ice

* Throwing grit, gravel or dirt onto large patches of ice can give you purchase

* Putting socks over your shoes can increase your grip

Build an 'emergency snow hole'

If weather closes in, take - or create - shelter. Don't try to struggle on as blizzard conditions can make the simplest tasks impossible

* Dig into snow on a slope, so the snow you dig out naturally falls away from the opening of the shelter and therefore takes less effort

* Work hard and fast but try not to sweat. Sweat will cool the body quickly once you stop working

* Keep the entrance as small as possible. This makes it easier to close up once you are inside

* Cover the entrance but ensure you leave a hole for ventilation

* Try to keep the entrance lower than the hole. Cold air will sink away from the main shelter

* Curl up in a ball and keep wriggling your fingers and toes

Signalling and rescue

* Bright colours and linear shapes are easily spotted from the air

* Even a square of dark fabric laid out in the snow will be highly visible to rescue aircraft

* Burn anything that will create smoke, such as evergreen branches, in an open space and away from any vehicles