With today marking the first of November, that means winter weather will be here before too long, and Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf wants local residents to be prepared for inclement weather in the months ahead.

Guthrie County Emergency Management has joined with Iowa Homeland Security and the National Weather Service to designate this coming Thursday, November 7th, as Winter Weather Awareness Day in the state.

Kempf says that winter weather tends to make people complacent when planning for “what ifs” during the winter season, and he doesn’t want to see that complacency from local families.

“With winter comes the issue of possibly being without electricity, power… our utilities, phones and things like that being down for an extended period of time, sometimes several days in a row.  So take time to maybe expand out that food and water supply to make sure that we’ve got that full three days worth of supplies on hand.”

Kempf says he often sees winter weather presenting some of the biggest problems for commuters, be they going between towns in the Guthrie County area or over to Des Moines.  He asks that local residents have their car’s checked by local mechanics to make sure all systems are working the way they need to be, plus be sure to keep a half tank of gas in your car all times throughout the winter time.

Anyone with questions about Winter Weather Awareness Day or if you need advice in putting together an emergency kit specifically for the winter months, contact Kempf at 641-332-3030.