As colder weather continues, and with it the risk of hazardous conditions, public safety leaders in Anne Arundel County and Annapolis are making weather-related information and resources accessible to the public.

“Getting information out there is so important,” said Preeti Emecik, director of the Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management.

There are a variety of ways to prepare for the cold at home, on the road or on your own. Here are some of them:

Around the house

Beyond the risks of slipping and falling, the American Heart Association (AHA) warns snow shoveling might put extra stress on the heart, especially for those who don’t exercise regularly.

At a time when cold weather could already increase blood pressure or tighten one’s coronary arteries, the strain that goes into shoveling could increase someone’s risk of heart attack, according to Dr. Barry Franklin, an AHA volunteer and professor of internal medicine at Oakland University.

It’s important for residents or workers clearing pathways to pace themselves and take breaks.

The county Office of Emergency Management also recommends residents have their furnaces, stoves and fireplaces checked, as well as their chimneys cleaned. Any ashes should go into an approved metal container and not a plastic or paper bag.

Residents should clear gutters of any debris during snow or icy conditions. Clogs can “force water into directions you don’t want it to,” said spokesperson Kasey Thomas.

Residents should also replace worn weather stripping around windows and doors. Not only will it help maintain heat and block out the cold, without fluctuating temperatures, but that maintenance could save residents money on utility bills.

To prevent a water pipe from bursting in your kitchen or bathroom, Thomas said residents should keep faucets dripping at a trickle, while also keeping thermostats set above 55 degrees. For outdoor pipes feeding into an outdoor sprinkler system or hose, Thomas said shutting off and draining the water is a best practice.

Safety kits

Having safety kits with essential items at your home and in your car could help keep you safe, fed and warm during an emergency. Thomas said they should include:

Blankets

Candles

Matches

Nonperishable foods

Drinking water

Protective clothing

Sand or kitty litter, to use as traction for wheels or pathways

Shovel

Warm clothes

Safety kits, Thomas said, can be useful if your home loses power and you can’t leave your house, or if you are out in public and unable to drive home safely.

Tracking snowplows

On their websites, the Anne Arundel County and Annapolis City governments provide residents a way to track the progress of snowplows operating in and around their communities.

For Anne Arundel residents outside of the Annapolis city limits, during a snowstorm producing less than 4 inches, snow removal operations should be completed within 24-36 hours of the storm ending, according to the county’s Department of Public Works.

An interactive map on the department’s website shows residents the progress its workers have made.

If a road has not been serviced in over a day or not at all, it will appear as blue on the map. If the last plow happened between 12 and 24 hours ago, the road will appear red. If it has been between six to 12 hours, the line will be gold. And if it has been served in the last six hours, its smallest metric, it will be green.

The county asks residents living in cul-de-sacs to not leave their cars parked at curbside or at a “head in” position around it. They also ask that portable basketball goals or other structures be removed from the right-of-way.

To access the county’s snow removal map or make a service request, visit www.aacounty.org/public-works/highways/snow-removal.

After testing the program last year, Annapolis has made its own tracking service, SnowPaths, available to residents.

Two sections — status and priority — inform residents on what roads have been serviced and when, as well as what kind of roads the city will focus its efforts on first: emergency routes, connector routes and then side streets and cul-de-sacs.

Using tracking technology already attached to each vehicle, like the county, the city will show residents if their streets have been serviced and if so, how long ago the most recent cleaning took place.

The information is updated roughly every five or 10 minutes, but could take up to 30 minutes to refresh, said Chris Meyd, who worked as SnowPath’s project manager in Annapolis before taking a job with Naval Support Activity Annapolis.

“We want the Annapolis residents to, instead of wonder … from the comfort of their home, see where the plows have been and where they’re going,” said Annapolis Emergency Management Director Kevin Simmons. “It’ll answer a lot of their questions.”

To access SnowPaths, visit www.annapolis.gov/2217/SnowPaths.

For further inquiries, contact the Annapolis Call Center at 410-260-2211.

Warming centers

Warming centers for temporary comfort and relief are available to citizens during periods of prolonged cold temperatures.

They can be found anytime in the lobbies and community rooms of the county’s four police department districts:

Northern District: 939 Hammonds Lane, Baltimore

Eastern District: 204 Pasadena Road, Pasadena

Western District: 8273 Telegraph Road, Odenton

Southern District: 35 Stepneys Lane, Edgewater

The following senior centers are open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday:

Annapolis Senior Activity Center: 119 South Villa Ave., Annapolis

Arnold Senior Activity Center: 44 Church Road, Arnold

Brooklyn Park Senior Activity Center: 202 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park

O’Malley Senior Activity Center: 1275 Odenton Road, Odenton

Pasadena Senior Activity Center: 4103 Mountain Road, Pasadena

Pascal Senior Activity Center: 125 Dorsey Road, Glen Burnie

Severn Senior Activity Center: 1160A Reece Road, Severn (open 8 a.m. — 8 p.m. Monday through Sunday)

South County Senior Activity Center: 27 Stepneys Lane, Edgewater

And the following public libraries:

Broadneck: 1275 Green Holly Drive, Annapolis

Brooklyn Park: 1 East 11th Ave., Baltimore

Busch Annapolis: 1410 West St., Annapolis (open Sundays: 1 p.m. — 5 p.m.)

Crofton: 1681 Riedel Road, Crofton (Currently closed for renovations until Dec. 30th; open Sundays: 1 p.m. — 5 p.m.)

Deale: 5940 Deale-Churchton Road, Deale

Discoveries: The Library at the Mall: 2550 Annapolis Mall Road, Annapolis (open Sundays: 1 p.m. — 5 p.m.)

Eastport-Annapolis Neck: 269 Hillsmere Drive, Annapolis

Edgewater: 25 Stepneys Lane, Edgewater

Glen Burnie: 1010 Eastway, Glen Burnie (open Sundays: 1 p.m. — 5 p.m.)

Linthicum: 400 Shipley Road, Linthicum

Maryland City at Russett: 3501 Russett Common, Laurel

Mountain Road: 4115 Mountain Road, Pasadena (closed on Sundays)

Odenton: 1325 Annapolis Road, Odenton (open Sundays: 1 p.m. — 5 p.m)

Riviera Beach Library: 1130 Duvall Highway, Pasadena (closed on Sundays)

Severn: 2624 Annapolis Road, Severn (open Sundays: 1 p.m. — 5 p.m.)

Severna Park: 45 West McKinsey Road, Severna Park (open Sundays: 1 p.m. — 5 p.m.)

All library branches open at 10 a.m. and will close either at 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, or 5 p.m. Friday through Saturday.

Have a news tip? Contact Luke Parker at lparker @baltsun.com, 410-725-6214, or on X @lparkernews.