Winter Is Coming: Now's The Time To Prepare Yourself For Upcoming Bitter Blast
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Now is the time to prepare yourself and your family for the bitter blast. The winter weather can be brutal.
Mechanics say when it gets as cold as it's forecasted to get, one thing that is not guaranteed is your car starting. But they say, with some preparations, you should be OK.
"Always have your tires checked, fluids checked and battery checked," said Tom Flora, manager of Evan's Gulf in Spring Garden.
Those are the three must-dos for winter car preparation, says Flora. He says the last thing you want to be is stranded when the temperatures plummet.
"You can have an issue by being stuck in the cold and ice. And having a flat tire in the winter is not fun at all," Flora said.
City officials will be out to check on the homeless population. Liz Hersh is the director of the Office of Homeless Services.
"These early days in winter are more dangerous because people aren't expecting it. During the day you're OK and all of a sudden in the middle of the night you wake up cold," Hersh said.
Hersh says a Code Blue likely won't be issued during this cold snap but the city is adding 400 beds to shelters over the next month.
In Philly, Code Blues are issued when temperatures and the wind chill dip to 20 degrees for at least 24 hours. If a Code Blue is issued throughout the winter, the city will add another 200 beds at city shelters.
The city will also add street teams to assist people with getting off the streets.
"The winter beds will be phased in between now and the middle of December and people can come in whether its Code Blue or not," Hersh said.
Despite it being early November and starting to look and feel a lot like Christmas, people say they're still not ready for the colder weather.
"I'm suffering, man. I know its like 40-something but it's too cold for me," Marcin Zoltowski said.
While Philadelphia is not expecting to issue a Code Blue, Camden County says it will. It's in effect from 7 p.m. Friday until Saturday morning.
