It's that time of year again, Oklahoma! Old Man Winter has blasted himself through our front doors and made himself comfortable as he will be staying with us through the holiday weekend.

Since it's the week before Christmas, Oklahomans undoubtably spent a good amount of time in stores purchasing gifts and completing their Christmas dinner shopping list. And for those Oklahomans who are always aware of the next winter weather strike, they were sure to stock up on their milk and bread. Why these are the two items Oklahomans hoard before winter weather is still a mystery to me. But the local meteorologists sure do love to play into this obsession.

I would assume that you'd like to have a few days worth of food available if the weather won't allow you to make a quick trip to the store or to have a pizza delivered. But there's only so much you can do with bread and milk. I guess if you have eggs, cinnamon and sugar, you could make French toast. And that's about all I can think of for recipes that require bread AND milk. Which leads me to believe that bread and milk aren't exactly the essentials Oklahomans need to survive a winter storm.

All Oklahomans need to survive a winter storm are shelter to protect them from the storm; electricity for heat and to cook; running water for bathing and drinking water; and, of course, a sensible amount of food for a few days -- there's no need to empty the shelves at the local grocery store.

Now I know all Oklahomans remember the winter storm we had in February 2021 when many lost power AND water for several days, for some it was a few weeks. That was truly one of the craziest winter storms Oklahomans have endured at least within the past decade. Many were not prepared for the severe issues the storm caused. Hopefully now Oklahomans are sensible when it comes to winter storms and will focus more on winter proofing their homes rather than stocking up on milk and bread.

No matter what you stock up on before an Oklahoma winter storm, always be sure to stay safe and warm, and don't drive if you don't have to. Oklahomans really aren't meant to drive during the winter.