Here are 16 tips for keeping you, your pets and home safe in the cold

In some areas, cold weather is a part of life, but for others, a bone-chilling winter is not the usual fare.

Here are 16 tips for keeping your pets and your home safe in bitterly cold weather.

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1. Perhaps the first thing you need to make sure that you have is a snow emergency kit. Here's how to put one together.
2. Don't forget your pets. They have no way to provide for themselves in the freezing cold. Here are seven tips to keep them safe during winter weather.
3. Avoid frostbite and hypothermia by dressing in layers and eating hot meals and drinking warm liquids several times per day.
4. Stay safe while driving on black ice by not using cruise control or pumping your brakes. Look out for patches of road that are darker or duller than the rest of the street.
5. Keep your home as warm as you can, even if you aren't there. By keeping the thermostat set to at least 72 degrees, you can prevent your system from burning out and keep the pipes from freezing.
6. Have the children home from school because of icy weather? Here are a few ideas to help keep them occupied. Here are some more. Since they are kids, you'll probably need even more.
7. What is the difference between a winter weather watch, a warning and an advisory? Click here to know what you should be ready for during a winter storm.
8. Is letting your car idle in cold weather illegal? It could be, depending on where you live.
9. Here are some tips for removing snow, even if you don't have a shovel.
10. If you do have a shovel, here are some tips on removing snow safely.
11. If you have to drive, you shouldn't do it with a snow-covered windshield.
12. Here are seven tips for safe winter driving.
13. Headed to the store for bread and milk? Here's the reason we do that.
14. And if you are doing that, here's good news: Cold weather can help you lose weight.
15. If you get hungry while you're out buying bread and milk, don't eat the snow. Seriously.
16. Instead of snow, try these five soup recipes.

Cox Media Group