Refill Your Freezer When a Storm Is Approaching
It’s not fun to waste energy for hours or days, especially if you have to throw food in the fridge. If you know a heavy storm is coming, you can keep food safe for longer by filling your freezer with jugs of water.
A full freezer stays cold for 48 hours, while a half-empty freezer can only be trusted for around 24 hours. (Don’t pack a full freezer, though: make sure there is little room for air to circulate). The refrigerator only keeps its temperature for about four hours, assuming you don’t open the doors.
Before a thunderstorm strikes, you can use food from the refrigerator to fill the freezer. This will keep these foods a little longer and will also help keep the freezer cool. Water containers are the best option to use the rest of the space: they are larger and cheaper than ice packs, and can be a backup source of drinking water.
While you’re preparing, take a refrigerator thermometer to keep track of the temperature – keep freezers below 0 degrees Fahrenheit and in a safe refrigerator 40 or below.
Keep food safe during emergencies: power outages, floods and fires | USDA
Photo from the Visual Hunt website .