Before The Winter Storm Hits, Make Sure Your Car Has These Essential Items

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At the risk of turning to a too-often-utilized pop culture quote, "Winter is coming." While winter may already be here in many parts of the world, the US is preparing to get hit by a massive winter storm system, which will bring frigid temperatures and massive ice storms to parts of the US that don't typically see such weather.  

If you live in the affected areas, you've probably already gotten a slew of warnings and notifications from your local news outlets and weather services. Before the storm hits, it's important to ensure you have emergency items on hand for your vehicle. And hey, even if you're not in the storm system now, these items will come in handy when winter weather does arrive. Here are a few things that have been deemed essential to your car's winter emergency kit by a few trusted sources on such matters, including Car and Driver and the National Weather Service. 

Gasoline is perhaps the most essential item you can have in your car ahead of a winter storm. So, if you are expecting snowy weather, you should think about hitting your local gas station to top off your tank. You might want to consider topping off any extra gas cans you've got lying around, too, particularly if you live in rural areas.

If you don't already have an ice scraper or snow brush tucked away in your trunk or glove box, you should check and see if they've got one at the filling station too, because they are about as essential a tool as you'll find in a winter storm. After all, you can't even think about taking your car, truck, or SUV out of the driveway if you can't actually see out of any of the windows. And a brush or scraper continues to be the most efficient option for clearing snow and ice out of the way.

Sure, you could just crank up the car and wait for the defogging function to do its thing. Per some people, a leaf blower can also do the trick in a pinch. But the defogger may take considerable time in heavy snow, and a blower may not clear as efficiently as you want. Sometimes the old ways of doing things are still the best. And when it comes to snow-covered windows, a scraper or brush will never let you down, even as they might leave your arm a little sore. 

Any vehicle owner who's ever turned the key in their car to hear that dreaded clicking sound will tell you that, just like road flares and a spare tire, a functional set of jumper cables is one of those things that you should have in your car any time of year. But that's even more true in the winter months, as prolonged exposure to cold weather can wreak havoc on your vehicle's battery. After all, the last thing you want to be doing in sub-freezing temps is waiting in an ice-cold car for a ride, a jump, or a tow. 

To that end, even if you do not find yourself in need of jumper cables when you're out and about in snowy weather, you may well come across a fellow citizen who does. And wouldn't it be nice to be in a position to help someone out in their moment of need? 

Of course, there are situations when even a good set of jumper cables won't do the trick, as you actually need another vehicle present to properly jump a dead car battery. If you want to go into the winter months over-prepared, you could invest in a portable battery jump starter from one of the major manufacturers and keep it in your car when you're out and about. However, you still need to ensure the jumper kit is charged and ready when you need it.

Even if you do everything you need to do to prepare your car for the winter months, it's still possible that you might find yourself at the wheel of a non-functional vehicle or stuck sitting among other non-moving cars on the freeway. In such instances, you may not be able to run the heat in your car while you wait for assistance, and if that's the case, you'd be wise to have some extra cold-weather gear stowed away in your vehicle. 

If you do regularly find yourself heading out on the road in snowy weather, odds are you are already doing so in a winter hat and a heavy winter coat. You may even gear up in a scarf and gloves. While that cold-weather wear will become invaluable to you on the off-chance you get stuck out on the road, if there's any chance you're going to be sitting in the cold for a lengthy period of time, it still may not be enough. You'd be wise to keep a cache of extra warm-weather gear somewhere in your vehicle. 

That list of items should include items like heavy sweaters or flannel shirts, spare socks, and a spare blanket or two. Disposable hand warmers may also prove, ahem, handy. If you aren't already wearing them, consider keeping a pair of snow-ready boots in your car, because you may need to walk through the white stuff in search of help.

The possibility of getting legitimately stuck without the means to easily seek help has been greatly diminished by smartphones. Even if you do find yourself in a remote area with little to no mobile signal, your device should still be able to make an emergency call when you need it. If you're anything like the bulk of the driving public, you likely never leave the house without your mobile device.

That being said, most mobile users have displayed a knack for not keeping their devices properly charged. That's particularly true when they're behind the wheel, as they may also be chatting away to friends via a headset or Bluetooth connection, or using their mobile device to crank some tunes through their vehicle's sound system.

If you count yourself among the masses who can't be bothered to keep proper track of their device's battery level, then you'd be wise to keep a spare charging cable in your glovebox, because the only way your phone won't be able to dial 911 in an emergency is if its battery is dead. The winter months do add the extra danger of your vehicle's battery also being dead, so you should also keep a good, fully-charged power bank packed away with your charging cable as a backup measure.

There are a few pieces of gear you should always have in your car in case of an emergency, like a flashlight or a multitool. If you're prepping a legit emergency kit before you hit the road, you should also include things like water and non-perishable snacks. But in the realm of things that should live in your car forever and always, a first aid kit is pretty high on the list.

That being said, we'd wager that many of you do not currently have a first aid kit in your car. That fact is particularly troublesome, as a first-aid kit is one of the cheaper forever items you can buy for your vehicle, with basic medical sets currently available through Amazon for as little as $5.99. In the winter months, a good first-aid kit could be legitimately invaluable, as even drivers well-versed in traversing snow and ice-covered roads can unexpectedly find themselves slipping and sliding into ditches and gutters. If that happens, it would be good to have items on hand to treat any bumps, cuts, and bruises drivers or passengers might endure.

Likewise, cuts and scrapes can be pretty common occurrences when you are performing other tasks like jumping a dead battery, scraping ice from a windshield or digging a tire out of the snow. And just as with jumper cables, even if you don't end up needing a first aid kit for yourself, when you are out and about in snowy weather, you may well come across somebody who does. 

The purpose of this article is to highlight a few items worthy of keeping in your car ahead of a snowstorm, as they may come in handy should you need to get behind the wheel or get stranded on the road. Some of the picks are obvious. Some are not. Either way, we came to select them through a mix of recommendations from respected sources in the auto and snow safety arena, and good old common sense. By no means should this list be considered definitive, as items deemed "essential" can change based on your location and the severity of the winter weather you are facing on the road.