What SouthCoast Residents Really Need to Have on Hand for Snowstorms

There's a storm brewing, and it could bring the SouthCoast lots of snow, a moderate amount of snow, just a trace of snow, or no snow at all this weekend. Who knows?

We live in New England, and we get storms frequently. Sometimes, those storms go right by us and straight out to sea. It's anybody's guess what will happen at this point.

As New Englanders, however, we tend to take a leisurely approach to storm preparation. In other words, we often wait until the last possible minute. Maybe that's because there have been so many near-misses. Because we wait, however, there are often lines at the supermarket, liquor store, hardware store, and Yankee Candle as folks look to stock up on provisions.

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As far back as I can remember, we've rushed to the market to stock up on milk and bread whenever snow was in the forecast. I don't know why that is or how the tradition began, but your mother did it, and her mother did as well. Milk and bread, bread and milk, the absolute "gotta haves" when the weather goes south. That applies to hurricanes, too.

It's not only here in the Northeast. People in other storm-prone areas like Florida and the mid-Atlantic states buy milk and bread before a storm just like we do. A January 2016 piece in The Atlantic says they are inclined to stock up on eggs as well. The article suggests there may be something psychological about all of this. No doubt.

Here is something interesting, though: the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention says bread is great to stock up on before a storm because you don't have to cook it if you lose power. Milk and eggs are perishable, however, and are not recommended.

When facing the possibility of being snowbound for a few days, as in the Blizzard of '78, there are more sensible things to have on hand than milk, bread, and eggs. I've included a partial list for you.