Eye on the Sky

Get those weather kits in your vehicles

Even some old blankets could prove helpful

By Bob Hill

For The Brookings Register

Posted 1/3/25

A new year brings forth another year for you to make your mark on our society. We have had a short period of rather pleasant weather, and I reckon that may change shortly.

As I was cleaning up a …

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Eye on the Sky

Get those weather kits in your vehicles

Even some old blankets could prove helpful

Metro photo
Posted

A new year brings forth another year for you to make your mark on our society. We have had a short period of rather pleasant weather, and I reckon that may change shortly.

As I was cleaning up a little this past weekend, I found a couple of things in the front of my house that made me think of the following advice. 

I found a metal clothes hanger and a few good-sized rocks on my sidewalk. Initially, they were not a problem in my eyes. But when I pulled my snowblower out of the shed, the clothes hanger and the rocks became the focus of my afternoon. When the snow comes, and it will trust me, items such as these will get covered up. Guess what happens when you run a snowblower over a large rock?

From my own experience, I can tell you that one of two things happen. The first time it happened to me it put a hole in my plastic snow chute. After buying a new chute and reinforcing it with a metal plate the next rock ended up putting a dent in the siding of my house. I was lucky that it wasn’t a car window. So, if you get a chance before the next snowfall, walk around the areas that you clean with a snowblower and remove any possible flying projectile hazards. Of course, if you only use a snow shovel then you can disregard this advice for now.  Just file it away in your memory for when you graduate to a snowblower.

The last couple of systems that came through the area had some rain/sleet that became snow. As I have mentioned before, I do not use my cruise control after it snows because it can cause you to lose control of your vehicle quite quickly. Just because you drive an all-wheel drive vehicle, or a four-wheel drive does not really make a difference when it comes to cruise control usage. What gets you is when you go from a dry surface to a wet, snow-packed surface or black ice spots on the roadway. Black ice tends to sneak up on you. It is almost like bridges. I see bridge signs that state that the bridge will freeze before the roadway, why would it do that you may wonder? Because the bridge deck does not have the ground protecting it from the wind like the roadway.

I may sound like a broken record, but: Carry an emergency kit when traveling in this type of weather. Vehicles can break down in any type of weather, but if you are not prepared in the winter, it can become a life-and-death situation in a hurry.

You say that you cannot afford a fancy kit? I have been known to grab a couple of blankets from my bed and toss them in the back seat. You live in South Dakota, so you probably have an extra hunting coat in the closet or garage that goes in the car, also. This also applies to a stocking hat and some sort of gloves. Take your cellphone charger from the house with a couple of bottles of water and you can survive for a night at least.

If you do ever break down on a road it is always best to stay with the vehicle. It is easier to find a vehicle than an individual person in a snowstorm. Some people will say, 'Well, there is a farmer's house in the distance. I can make it.' I would have to say, 'Are you sure?' When the wind is blowing, and it is snowing your eyes can start seeing things that aren’t there.

Another thing that is recommended in this area is to let people know where you are going and what time you are expected to be there. That will assist first responders in trying to get help to you if called upon. Paying attention to the weather forecast is also important. Yes, I realize that they are wrong sometimes, but then again, they are also correct a portion of the time. 

The last portion of this article is going to discuss our area first responders. Brookings County and the surrounding area have the greatest first responders that I could ever hope for. All interactions with dangerous situations — a fire, a car accident, a hazardous materials incident — every one of them start locally and the people responding to them are you, your neighbors, your friends, and often people who do not know you but put down whatever they are doing and respond to the emergency.

The latest fire in downtown Brookings is a good example of this. I have seen it on Interstate 29 during accidents, after wind events in Elkton, Sinai, Volga, Bruce, White and other parts of Brookings County. I have seen first responders give their all to try to save lives and property. To say thanks, try to support the first response agencies when they have events such as dances, pancake feeds, rocky mountain oyster feeds, and other fundraising events so that they can raise funds to purchase equipment.

In closing, let’s work together as a community and make Brookings County a safer place in 2025 and beyond.

And of course, always keep an eye On the sky.

Bob the EM.