As the temperatures start to drop and we march towards winter, now is the time to gather supplies for emergency supply kits.

Dallas County Emergency Management Coordinator AJ Seely tells Raccoon Valley Radio winter weather can sneak up, and now is the time to prepare for a weather event. Seely recommends always having a working weather radio on hand, as well as a flashlight, spare batteries, and enough food and drinking water to last for at least three days. Seely also encourages everyone to have a supply kit in your car, “Start to think about what’s in your vehicle in terms of blankets, maybe have some sand in case you get stuck on ice. I definitely want to see an ice scraper in everybody’s car. A lot of times in the winter we see people driving without very clear windows, and that’s a hazard to yourself and others. So we want to make sure we’re thinking ahead.”

Dallas County offers a notification service that will send an email, text message, or automated phone call whenever there is a weather event or any kind of community emergency. This is a free service that residents can customize based on their area and what kind of alerts they’d like to receive. You can enroll via text message by texting “dallasalerts” to 69310. Once you send the message, you’ll receive a link to follow and set up the kind of notifications you would like. You can find a link to sign up here.