{"id":16663,"date":"2025-12-17T09:26:31","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T14:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=16663"},"modified":"2025-12-17T09:28:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T14:28:42","slug":"central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>December 12, 2025<br \/>\n<strong>Media Contact:<\/strong> Rachel Dumene, <a href=\"mailto:Rachel.dumene1@vdh.virginia.gov\">Rachel.dumene1@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a>, 540-480-4998<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared<br \/>\nfor the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Stay Safe This Winter with These Tips<\/em><\/p>\n<p>STAUNTON, Va. \u2013 The Central Shenandoah Health District reminds residents that winter weather can be dangerous and unpredictable. Snow, ice, and freezing conditions can lead to unexpected injuries and accidents. These conditions can increase the risk of hazardous travel, power outages, and health impacts, especially for older adults, children, and people with chronic health problems.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing prepared is half the battle,\u201d says Dr. Allison Baroco, Acting Health Director for CSHD. \u201cWe\u2019ve already seen some snow this year, so this is a good reminder to prepare for the coming months. Good preparedness makes unexpected weather safer and easier for you and your family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ready.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2024-03\/ready.gov_winter-storm_hazard-info-sheet.pdf\">By preparing ahead of time<\/a> you can avoid emergencies, protect your health and keep your loved ones safe. Follow these tips to be better prepared for the cold weather season.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ready.gov\/kit\">Have an emergency kit<\/a> with supplies such flashlights, batteries, blankets, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ready.gov\/food\">food<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ready.gov\/water\">water<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/winter-weather\/safety\/index.html\">Winterize your home<\/a> by insulating walls and attics, caulking and weather-stripping doors and windows.<\/li>\n<li>Check batteries in smoke detectors and carbon monoxide monitors.<\/li>\n<li>Prepare your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ready.gov\/car\">vehicle with emergency supplies<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Use space heaters safely. Keep heat sources at least three feet away from drapes, furniture, bedding, or other flammable materials. Never cover your space heater.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Preparation before dangerous winter weather arrives is critical. The best time to prepare for severe winter weather is now, before temperatures drop significantly and staying safe and warm becomes a challenge. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/winter-weather\/safety\/stay-safe-during-after-a-winter-storm-safety.html#cdc_preparedness_in_case-frostbite-and-hypothermia\">Take these precautions to lower your risk of illness<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wear cold appropriate clothing like gloves, hats, scarves and snow boots.<\/li>\n<li>Be aware of the wind chill factor.<\/li>\n<li>Remove any wet clothing immediately.<\/li>\n<li>Limit your time outdoors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you plan to travel, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdot.virginia.gov\/\">Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)<\/a> provides travel advisories on current road conditions and weather forecasts. Travelers can easily access weather information by dialing 511, 24 hours a day, seven days a week or via the website at <a href=\"https:\/\/511.vdot.virginia.gov\/\">511.vdot.virginia.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about staying safe this winter by visiting the Central Shenandoah Health District at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/central-shenandoah\/\">https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/central-shenandoah\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>December 12, 2025 Media Contact: Rachel Dumene, Rachel.dumene1@vdh.virginia.gov, 540-480-4998 Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather Stay Safe This Winter with These Tips STAUNTON, Va. \u2013 The Central Shenandoah Health District reminds residents that winter weather can be dangerous and unpredictable. Snow, ice, and freezing conditions [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":518,"featured_media":0,"parent":12292,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[195,197,577,592,903,711,1386,1384,1385,784],"class_list":["post-16663","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-central-shenandoah-health-district","tag-cshd","tag-dr-allison-baroco","tag-emergencies","tag-emergency-kit","tag-severe-weather","tag-travel","tag-vdot","tag-virginia-department-of-transportation","tag-winter-weather"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"December 12, 2025 Media Contact: Rachel Dumene, Rachel.dumene1@vdh.virginia.gov, 540-480-4998 Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather Stay Safe This Winter with These Tips STAUNTON, Va. \u2013 The Central Shenandoah Health District reminds residents that winter weather can be dangerous and unpredictable. Snow, ice, and freezing conditions [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-17T14:28:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\\\/\",\"name\":\"Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather - Newsroom\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-17T14:26:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-17T14:28:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Archived News Releases\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"2025 Regional News Releases\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather - Newsroom","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather - Newsroom","og_description":"December 12, 2025 Media Contact: Rachel Dumene, Rachel.dumene1@vdh.virginia.gov, 540-480-4998 Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather Stay Safe This Winter with These Tips STAUNTON, Va. \u2013 The Central Shenandoah Health District reminds residents that winter weather can be dangerous and unpredictable. Snow, ice, and freezing conditions [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","article_modified_time":"2025-12-17T14:28:42+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\/","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\/","name":"Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather - Newsroom","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-12-17T14:26:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-17T14:28:42+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-shenandoah-health-district-urges-residents-to-be-prepared-for-the-unpredictable-impacts-of-winter-weather\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Newsroom","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Archived News Releases","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"2025 Regional News Releases","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Central Shenandoah Health District Urges Residents to Be Prepared for the Unpredictable Impacts of Winter Weather"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/","name":"Newsroom","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16663"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16664,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16663\/revisions\/16664"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}