It could be our first major winter storm in almost two years. The National Weather Service is saying it’s still too early to say for sure, but part of the Tri-State could get more than a foot of snow. The system comes in tomorrow as all rain, before transitioning to sleet and freezing rain, and then to all heavy snow before moving out to the east by noon Saturday. And since this is potentially our first major winter storm since February 25th of 2016, it’s a good idea to go over some basics. If you do run off the road and get stuck, Wabash County Emergency Management Agency Director Gerald Brooks says it’s important you do one thing.

After the storm ends on Saturday, we’ll head back to the deep freeze with lows returning to near single digits on Saturday and Sunday nights and that could put additional stress on your heating system that might have already been taxed by recent sub-zero temperatures. Keeping the heat at a comfortable level may be overworking your furnace. Jay Barrett, Sales Manager at Barrett Heating and Cooling in Alton says properly maintaining your unit is important in getting efficient use out of the equipment.
 

Barrett says there are fewer parts that can break in electric heat exchangers, so they are seeing more calls for repairs coming in for furnaces powered by natural gas or oil.