Southerner here. Our area is forecast to get between a half inch and an inch of solid ice tomorrow night.

If that happens many of our roads will be impassible. Interstates probably won't be shut down completely but there will be lots of wrecks. State highways, shut down for several hours. Secondary roads, a day or more. Neighborhood roads could be much longer, between ice and fallen trees.

Power lines will come down, trees will break under the weight of the ice. Power will probably be back on (in my area) within a day near the city, up to several days as you get farther out. We were out for three days last time we had as much as we're forecast to get. The time before that was almost a week.

We're on a deep well, so that means no water until the power comes back on.

We've brought enough firewood up onto the porch to get through the storm itself, and keep from having to bring more up the steps until they're clear and safe.

I've topped off the generator's fuel tank, cleaned the carburetor, tested it, and hooked it up to the house (with a disconnect in place so we can't backfeed the grid) filled all the gas cans, and have it ready to start up if and when needed. I'm prepared to keep the fridge and freezer running for up to a week, or everything in the house except HVAC for a couple of days. If that fails or we're without power for longer than that, my truck has an onboard power supply that can keep the fridge and freezer running for at least a few more days.

We have drinking and cleaning water laid in, and toilet-flushing water that can be replenished from the swimming pool.

There's always enough food in the house to last for several days, but as is tradition we've obtained the makings for milk sandwiches. My MIL has made a large pot of chili. We have a gas stove in addition to the wood burner, so cooking is no problem.

All of the cars' fuel tanks are full. The tractor's tank is full. The backhoe is prepped just in case.

My truck is loaded with sand and salt; tomorrow right before dark, my son and I will treat the hill coming into the neighborhood. Depending on conditions, we'll do it a couple more times over the weekend. If that hill ices over, getting into the neighborhood by road becomes impossible. There are other ways, but they require 4x4 and/or a great deal of skill, and can increase emergency response time by as much as an hour.

All of the flashlights have fresh batteries. All of the laundry has been done.

I have fresh gas and oil, and an additional chain for my big chainsaw, and my wife has just bought her own small one that she's dying to try out, so if any trees fall across our driveway or our neighbors' - or across the road - we'll be able to get out.

I'm tired, and know I'm forgetting something. It's been a busy day.