Even the harshest winter might not seem so bad when you’re snug inside your home in town with electricity, warmth, water, and everything else you could need or want. But let me tell you, even a mild one can be a true test of your survival skills if you’re living off-grid.
In many ways, it’s the hardest and arguably most dangerous thing you can do. That’s because exposure, more than anything else, is likely to take you out: in temperatures below zero, hypothermia can set in within minutes.
Whether you’ve chosen the lifestyle or not, you’ve got to know how to survive winter’s fury when living off-grid. This article will prepare you for the many dangers and teach you how. Bundle up, and let’s get to it.
Don’t Want to Live Off-Grid? You Might Not Have a Choice
Don’t click away just because you don’t choose to live off-grid. Whether you live in town, at the edge of town, or way out in the sticks, you might not have a choice if the weather gets nasty enough.
Sure, we all know that big blizzards can strike and challenge even the most prepared, but have you considered that widespread power outages and other winter weather disasters are becoming more common every year? Even in places you might not expect, like Texas!
Winter storms left millions in Texas without power in 2021. The damage and death toll from winter weather rise every year due to a lack of maintenance and declining quality and reliability in America’s utility grid.
This is serious stuff. If you aren’t prepared, you could face weeks without power or access to supplies and society at large, with many weeks thereafter before things return to normal.
Plan accordingly.
Snowstorms Can Kill the Unprepared!
Let’s talk specifics. We’re not just worried about a chilly winter day, though, in the wrong situation, a chilly day might prove fatal. Snowstorms are serious weather events, and major ones are legitimate disasters.
A significant such storm could drop anywhere from 2 to 5 feet of snow on the ground over a few days. In areas with harsh or long winters, you could get much more snow than that.
This can make roads completely impassable, outbuildings unreachable, and cause severe damage or collapse of structures. Temperatures, with wind chill, can drop to zero degrees or much colder, reaching as low as 30 below throughout much of the continental United States.
If you’re caught outside or inside without a way to warm your home, you’ll be minutes away from hypothermia and only a couple of hours from death.
Even attempts to heat your home might prove deadly: carbon monoxide from fireplaces, heaters, and other appliances is a major killer in winter, claiming over 400 lives yearly in the United States alone.
The Big Three Concerns: Heat, Food, Water
There’s a lot you can do to prepare for surviving winter weather when living off-grid, including things to improve your chances and make life more comfortable.
But there are three things you truly, positively cannot live without.
Heat
The most obvious and frankly most important survival necessity for our purposes. I trust I’ve impressed upon you enough already how critical heat is to survival under these conditions. And note that when I refer to heat, it’s in the context of a suitably sturdy and weatherproof shelter.
No sleeping bag or tent alone will suffice for long-term survival. You’ll need a wood-burning stove, fireplace, oil heater, rocket stove, or similar appliance and plenty of fuel to keep it going all winter long.
We’ll talk more about fuel supply concerns in a bit.
Food
Everyone knows by now that you’ve got to eat, but did you know you need more calories in winter, not fewer? That’s because humans don’t hibernate, and our bodies use more energy to stay warm when it’s cold outside.
Plus, any physical work you do, from walking to hauling water, is harder and requires more energy. Accordingly, you should budget around 3,000 calories a day, maybe a little less, per adult in your family to make it through the winter.
Water
Of course, water is a survival necessity. No surprise. But as I said, winter weather makes everything harder, especially procuring water for off-grid preppers and homesteaders.
Pipes in your home and in the ground can freeze or burst. Well pumps may stop working. Surface water sources will freeze solid. And so on.
Melting snow, clean snow, is one way to get water, but it’s fuel- and time-intensive. Insulated water stores or specially designed and insulated wells are lifesavers.
Get ready to resort to unconventional methods for sourcing water: you might need to chainsaw through surface ice to draw water from a nearby lake or pond.
Nonetheless, the water isn’t any cleaner just because it was frozen: you must be prepared to melt, purify, and sterilize as needed. Be cautious of well water too; damaged pipes, melting ice, and other winter woes can lead to contamination of previously reliable sources.
Your Fuel Source Is a Literal Lifeline in the Coldest Climates!
Whatever you rely on for heat, electricity, or both, your fuel supply must be sufficient for the duration you’re off-grid.
If you rely on wood for heat, either in a fireplace or wood-burning stove, count on needing six cords of well-seasoned hardwood firewood to keep a common room reasonably warm and livable. This assumes the home is well-built, well-insulated, and you’re not trying to heat the entire thing.
If your home is drafty, poorly insulated, you’re heating multiple living spaces, or you live in the farthest northern reaches of the continental US, Canada, or Alaska, you might need half again or twice as much wood as the figure quoted above.
Liquid fuel for generators, heaters, and other vital gear must likewise be temperature- and shelf-life-stabilized. Additives can address both concerns, with the former being especially important in sustained below-zero temperatures.
Propane, if you’ve invested in the infrastructure, can be your best friend. A 500-gallon household tank can provide two to three months’ worth of heating and cooking with continuous usage and high reliability.
Caring for Animals Will Be a Full-Time Job
Most of us who choose an off-grid lifestyle, or just live way out in the country, tend to keep livestock for various purposes. Harsh winter weather will put you to a severe test in this regard.
All livestock species, from chickens to cows, goats, sheep, horses, llamas, and everything else, will need more food to provide more calories, just as you do. Plan on at least a 20% increase in feed consumption; 30% is a safer bet.
Water is similarly challenging. Nothing changes in winter, and all animals need constant access to fresh, drinkable water. Waterers, troughs, and other sources can freeze over, meaning you’ll have to break them up a couple of times a day or switch them out for smaller species’ waterers.
Many folks living off-grid resort to hauling warm water from their home or another outbuilding, which costs more fuel and potentially eats into your own water supply.
Depending on where you live, your financial situation, and how crafty you are, you might invest in or rig up a heated water source that stays liquid at all times.
One more thing: many predators slow down in winter, but many others do not. Coyotes, wolves, and more are likely to become bolder and more tenacious. Fencing and other countermeasures that once proved reliable may no longer suffice.
Be prepared to intervene on your animals’ behalf and ensure fencing, coops, shelters, and other enclosures are well-maintained and solid before winter arrives.
Power Considerations
If you’ve planned and prepared for the off-grid lifestyle, you likely already have provisions for creating your own power. Winter conditions will complicate implementation, though.
A Good Generator Is Priceless
No surprise here. Every prepper alive understands the importance of a good generator. It’s doubly important in winter weather. Note there is no one-size-fits-all solution, here: Your needs might be perfectly served by a smaller, portable generator or you may need a big, standby āwhole houseā unit.
There are many variables to consider, like how big your family is, what kind of appliances are āmust-havesā and wether you are relying on electric heating as a supplement, but generally you should go with a generator that offers between 5,000 and 15,000 watts. This assumes a family of four.
Ensure you account for an adequate fuel supply and oil for regular changes, since you’ll be running it more than usual. Consult your model’s manual, but plan on changing the oil every 50 to 70 hours of operation.
As mentioned, ventilation is key to preventing the buildup of deadly carbon monoxide. Never run your generator indoors!
Solar Panels Will Need Constant Care and More Maintenance
Solar is the go-to power option for seasoned off-grid preppers, and it’s still a good choice for winter, but with caveats.
Snow buildup can quickly cut into your panels’ efficiency: just one inch of snow can reduce output by 35 to 50%. If possible, slope your panels at 60 degrees and use a long, soft brush or specialty scraper to clear snow as needed. Likewise, shorter days and overcast weather will negatively impact advertised, net performance ratings even when the panels themselves are in perfect order.
If depending on solar for significant household use and keeping a large battery bank topped off, plan on needed anywhere from 20 to 25 400-watt panels. For brutal conditions or more intensive use, you might need as many as 50 panels, or even more!
Many battery banks are less effective in cold temperatures, and many system components are more prone to failure.
Other Specific Winter Threats to Watch Out For
Low temperatures aren’t the only things that can kill you. Far from it! Wise preppers will account for the following and create contingency plans accordingly.
Lack of Road Access
If you’ve got several feet of snow on your driveway, that’s headache enough. But what will you do if the nearest road to civilization is completely impassable and doesn’t even get plowed in the best of times?
If you or someone in your family has a genuine medical emergency, this can be disastrous. If you lack the skills or equipment to intervene, chances are no one is coming to the rescue. Don’t count on a helicopter being able to reach you or land safely.
There’s only so much you can do to prepare for this. Network with neighbors and stay in contact to see if they can render aid, or get a reliable, snow-capable vehicle that can handle the conditions.
Snowmobiles, snowcats, and other machines are worthwhile considerations. Or go low-tech and train dogs capable of pulling a sled.
Building Collapse
Snow is shockingly heavy, especially once it starts to melt and refreeze with more on the way. Abnormally heavy snowfalls are notorious for damaging roofs and building exteriors, sometimes outright collapsing structures.
Have tools and a plan for safely clearing snow from your roof, and in blizzard conditions, you might need to do this as often as twice a day. If you plan to build in an area that constantly gets heavy snow, dramatically “overbuild” or reinforce your roof to withstand the weight.
You’ll notice many homes in such places have steeply pitched roofs; this is wise, as it encourages snow to slide off instead of building up.
Snow “Sheds”
Speaking of snow sliding off your roof! Keep your distance from the eaves of your home and other outbuildings when there’s lots of snow up there.
Great masses of snow and ice suddenly breaking free and sliding off can gain significant velocity, resulting in terrible injuries or even death if you’re hit. This is another reason to clear the roof regularly.
Tom Marlowe practically grew up with a gun in his hand, and has held all kinds of jobs in the gun industry: range safety, sales, instruction and consulting, Tom has the experience to help civilian shooters figure out what will work best for them.