How to be prepared for extreme winter weather.

This winter is predicted to be one of the coldest in living memory. It’s important not to get caught out unprepared and ill equipped!

It is important to stay informed, so keep an eye on the weather forecast and take action on any severe weather warning or advice that is given. There are a lot of weather apps available for your mobile devices, the Met Office have apps for Android or Apple devices and will help you stay on top of the weather changes as they happen.

Always leave extra time for your journeys during periods of extreme weather. Check that public transport is still running before you leave the house to avoid getting stranded outside in the cold!

If you drive, you should plan your route and leave extra time to ensure you are not rushing and drive safely in accordance with the condition of the road. The Highways Agency suggests that you keep an emergency kit in your car over the winter months. This includes:

• Ice scraper and de-icer
• Warm clothes and blan­kets — for you and all passengers
• Torch and spare bat­ter­ies - or a wind-up torch
• Boots
• First aid kit
• Jump leads
• A shovel
• Road atlas
• Sun­glasses (the glare off snow can be dazzling).

In addi­tion, when set­ting out on jour­neys dur­ing the win­ter sea­son remem­ber to take with you:

• Food and a ther­mos with a hot drink
• Any med­ica­tion you, or other peo­ple trav­el­ling with you, need to take regularly.

It is also important to remember that heaters, windscreen wipers and difficult driving conditions will all have an impact on your cars battery life. To avoid draining your battery and getting stranded in an emergency, it is a good idea to carry an emergency battery booster for your phone so you will never be caught out with a flat battery! This Universal Emergency Barrel Charger is not only great value, for only £4.99 but could be a lifesaver in an emergency. Simply connect your phone and talk whilst charging. It includes a range of tips for use with most handsets, including MicroUSB and powers up your phone so that it has up to 2.5 hours of talk time, all from one AA battery.  Keep a couple of spare AA batteries in your glove box and you will never be caught without battery again!