What to do Nature and weather

Extreme cold and blizzard: what to do

In extreme cold and blizzards: stay at home with food and fuel supplies, if stuck in a car do not let exhaust fumes in, protect your ears and fingers. Based on PAGD.

Prepared by the InCaseMap team · Steps translated from the Lithuanian text checked 5 October 2026 Updated 16 October 2026

In short: In extreme cold and blizzards, stay at home, make sure you have supplies of food, water and fuel, and travel only if you must. Stuck in your car — do not switch off the engine, or run it from time to time to warm up, but do not let exhaust fumes into the car and make sure snow does not block the exhaust pipe. Protect your ears, nose, cheeks and fingers — they get frostbitten first. All 20 “What to do” instructions, based on recommendations from PAGD, the Ministry of National Defence, the Radiation Protection Centre and the police, are in the InCaseMap app and work offline — together with a shelter map and 38 first-aid situations.

What to do

  1. Stay at home, make sure you have supplies of food, water and fuel; travel only if you must.
  2. In the countryside, prepare feed and water for livestock.
  3. Stuck in your car – do not switch off the engine, or run it from time to time to warm up, but do not let exhaust fumes into the car; make sure snow does not block the exhaust pipe.
  4. Protect your ears, nose, cheeks and fingers – they get frostbitten first. Wind makes the cold worse.

What not to do

  • Do not keep warm with home-made electric heaters, do not plug several appliances into one socket, do not leave them switched on unattended.

First aid

Frequently asked questions

What should I do if my car gets stuck in a blizzard?

Do not switch off the engine, or run it from time to time to warm up, but do not let exhaust fumes into the car and make sure snow does not block the exhaust pipe.

Which parts of the body get frostbitten first?

Ears, nose, cheeks and fingers. Wind makes the cold worse.

How can I keep warm safely in extreme cold?

Do not keep warm with home-made electric heaters, do not plug several appliances into one socket and do not leave them switched on unattended.

Sources

Based on: Fire and Rescue Department of Lithuania (PAGD). Translated from the Lithuanian text that InCaseMap checked against the sources on 5 October 2026.

Instructions in the alert message and from officials come before this page. If a life is in danger, call 112.

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