What to do in the first 10 minutes after your power goes out in freezing weather

When the lights cut out and the temperature outside is below freezing, the next 10 minutes shape how safely you ride out the outage. Your goal is simple but urgent: trap as much heat as you can, protect your household from hidden hazards, and line up a backup plan before conditions deteriorate. With a clear sequence of steps, you can turn those first moments of confusion into a calm checklist that keeps you warm, informed, and ready to move if you have to.

1. Confirm it is a true outage and not a problem in your home

Your first move is to figure out whether the loss of power is limited to your home or part of a wider failure. Look outside to see if streetlights, neighboring houses, or hallway lights in an apartment building are dark as well. If you have a battery radio or a charged phone, check local outage maps or alerts so you know whether you are dealing with a neighborhood issue or a larger grid problem that could last through the coldest hours of the night.

Once you know the outage is real, avoid repeatedly flipping breakers or resetting equipment, which can damage appliances when power returns. Guidance on how to handle a power outage in cold emphasizes having flashlights and radios ready in advance so you can safely inspect your panel and walkways without using open flames. If you suspect a fault in your own wiring or smell burning, leave breakers off and contact an electrician or your landlord rather than experimenting in the dark.

2. Call your utility and get accurate information fast

Once you have confirmed the outage, report it so repair crews know your address is affected. Many utilities let you log an outage through an app or automated phone system, which is faster than waiting on hold during a major winter storm. Accurate information about the cause and estimated restoration time helps you decide whether to hunker down, move to a warming center, or activate an evacuation plan if your home cannot stay habitable in subfreezing temperatures.

Consumer guidance on outage readiness recommends that you call the power company early, then check on nearby family and vulnerable neighbors who may not have cell service or backup heat. Regional winter storm advisories, including any active Winter Storm Warning, can signal whether crews are battling ice, high winds, or heavy snow that will slow repairs. Treat any restoration estimate as a best case, and start planning for several hours without power even if the initial timeline sounds optimistic.

3. Trap heat by sealing your space and closing off rooms

Cold air will start creeping in as soon as your furnace or heat pump stops, so your next priority is to keep the warmth you already have. Close interior doors to unused rooms so you are not trying to warm the entire house with body heat and blankets. Energy experts describe Simple Ways to Heat a Room Without Electricity, starting with the advice to Close Off Rooms You Don’t Use, because there is no point in letting precious heat drift into spaces you are not occupying.

After you have chosen a core living area, block drafts under doors with rolled towels and hang heavy blankets or spare comforters over windows and exterior doors to reduce heat loss. Cold weather survival guides on winter outages stress that you should Seal Leaks and Drafts Immediately and Insulat around windows and doors with whatever you have, from bubble wrap to cardboard. Another cold weather resource advises you to Close doors to unused rooms and Hang blankets over openings, which can make a surprising difference in how long your main room stays livable.

4. Layer up and manage your body heat like a resource

Once your space is contained, treat your own body heat as the primary furnace. Put on thermal base layers if you have them, then add sweaters, jackets, beanies, and gloves before you start to feel chilled. Local emergency guidance notes that you should Make sure to keep all doors and windows to the outside shut and layer up with jackets, beanies, and gloves, advice that comes from meteorologist Moore. Dressing early, before you start shivering, helps your body maintain core temperature instead of fighting to recover from a deep chill.

Pay special attention to children, older adults, and anyone with circulation or heart issues, since they lose heat faster and may not notice early warning signs of hypothermia. A video explainer on what to do if your power fails in extreme cold, published in Jan, reinforces the importance of closing your garage door, keeping outer doors shut, and using sunlight through windows when available to boost indoor warmth. Encourage everyone to stay in the same room, share blankets, and avoid getting clothes damp, since moisture strips heat from your body much faster than dry air.

5. Use safe light sources and avoid fire hazards

In the first minutes after an outage, many people instinctively reach for candles, but in a cold, dark house that is a serious fire risk. Utility safety guidance on Extreme cold notes that Candles are hazardous and that you should rely on battery powered flashlights or lanterns instead. Keep one light in your main room and another in a hallway or bathroom so people are not stumbling through the dark, and store spare batteries where you can find them without rummaging through closets.

If you have portable power stations or rechargeable lanterns, place them where they will not be knocked over and where ventilation is good. A winter storm survival guide suggests you place lights strategically, with one in the room you are using most and another near an entryway that blocks wind and retains warmth. Never run gasoline or diesel generators indoors or in attached garages, and keep them far enough from doors and windows that exhaust cannot drift inside, since carbon monoxide can build up quickly in a tightly sealed home.

6. Protect food, water, and critical supplies

Once you have light and warmth under control, turn to your supplies. Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed so the cold air inside stays trapped as long as possible. Outage preparation checklists explain that an unopened refrigerator will keep food cold for several hours and that you should Check your emergency kit for water, shelf stable food, medications, and batteries before conditions worsen. If you have a cooler and ice packs, you can move high value items like insulin or certain antibiotics into it if the outage stretches on.

Emergency planners advise that you Don’t wait for doomsday to prepare, and that Emergency Preparedness means having enough food, water, and other essentials to shelter in place or stay with another family member during a winter power outage. If you rely on electrically powered medical devices, use these first minutes to connect them to backup batteries or to identify the nearest facility that can support you if you need to relocate.

7. Stay warm without unsafe improvisation

As the house cools, it is tempting to improvise heat sources, but some common tricks are deadly. Never use a gas oven, charcoal grill, or unvented propane heater indoors, since they can fill your living space with carbon monoxide. Instead, focus on passive heat retention and safe alternatives like extra blankets, sleeping bags rated for low temperatures, and shared body heat in a single room. Detailed cold weather advice on how to stay warm during a power outage highlights simple steps like blocking drafts, insulating windows, and keeping everyone together.

If you have a wood stove or properly vented fireplace, use it carefully and keep a fire extinguisher nearby. For homes with oil heat, you may be tempted to tinker with the system when it shuts down, but technicians warn that you should Wait at least 10 minutes after shutting off power and fuel before starting any work so components can cool to safer temperatures and accident risk is reduced. A separate guide on how to Reduce Heat Loss Before a Winter Power Outage Begins notes that Reducing Gaps around doors and windows in advance buys you more time when the grid fails.

8. Decide whether to stay put or move to a safer location

In the first 10 minutes, you should also start thinking about whether your home can safely stay occupied if the outage drags on. Factors include how well insulated your building is, whether you have safe backup heat, and how far temperatures are expected to drop overnight. A detailed winter blackout guide on Nov power failures in cities describes how quickly streets can turn into frozen tombs when the grid is dead, and urges people to seal their living space “like a tomb” for warmth while also planning an exit route if conditions inside become dangerous.

Outage planning checklists recommend that you Create an Evacuation Plan in advance because There are many factors that could compel you to leave your home during a power outage, from extreme weather to medical needs. Another winter storm guide on When the Grid Fails This Winter Storm and the Things You Must Do Fast stresses that you should avoid unnecessary travel until conditions improve, but that you may need to relocate to a warming center or another family member’s home if indoor temperatures fall to unsafe levels.

9. Communicate, monitor conditions, and think a few hours ahead

Once the immediate scramble is over, use the remaining minutes of phone battery and daylight to set yourself up for the next phase. Send quick messages to relatives or friends so they know your status and location, and agree on a check in schedule in case cell networks become overloaded. A cold weather safety video on what to do if your power goes out during freezing temperatures, shared in Feb coverage, underscores the value of staying in touch with local authorities as they work to restore power and of using sunlight by opening blinds when the sun is out, then closing them again to hold in heat.

Keep monitoring indoor temperature, outdoor conditions, and any updates from your utility or local emergency management. Guidance on how to prepare Before the storm, including advice to Set your refrigerator and freezer to their coldest settings and Check flashlights and radios, is a reminder that the best time to prepare is before the lights go out. Even so, if you use those first 10 minutes wisely, you can stabilize your home, protect the people in it, and buy yourself crucial time to make smart decisions as the outage unfolds.

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*This article was developed with AI-powered tools and has been carefully reviewed by our editors.