Could You Survive A Sudden Storm©

 

Author’s note -- I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource!  To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE.  Thank you and Happy Trails!

In the northern United States, particularly around the Great Lakes, the fall weather can be unpredictable.  Storms pop quickly as they cross the lakes.  Temperatures drop and bring rain.  Or snow.  Sometimes both.  In any case, hypothermia creeps in quickly when temperatures drop to between 30°F and 50°F (-1°C to 10°C).  And it can happen in temperatures above 40°F to 50°F if you’re wet from rain, sweat, or falling into the water (for more read “Hypothermia, It Can Happen Any Time, Anywhere ©” HERE).

 

A sudden storm is blowing in quickly.  You’re on an open hillside and you need shelter.  Quick!  So what do you decide to do?  Do you pick, A, B, C or D?

 

The ‘Rule of Threes’ is a tool that can help you make the correct decision.

 

Choice A)  Look for a spot that is close to water and fuel wood.  The storm is already here and depending on how much rain has already fallen, fuel wood might be wet.  And you don’t have to worry about dehydration for a day or so.  But you do need shelter from the wind and the rain within the next few hours.  The sooner the better.

 

Choice B)  Look for a spot that is level and large enough for you to lay down in, and that shelters you from the wind and the elements.  The most important thing is to stay dry AND get out of the wind.  Look for a fallen tree, a rock, anything that blocks the winds.  The root-ball and trunk of the blown down tree in the picture makes a good start for a shelter.  If your shelter site close to materials to build a build a better shelter from even better.  (for more read “...Seeking Shelter Against the Wind©” HERE at  and “Winter Survival ... a Low-hanging Tree Shelter©” HERE)

 

Choice C)  Look for a cave or rock shelter. 

A rock shelter or cave would be perfect, if you can find one.  The Allegheny Plateau and the Appalachian Mountains have plenty rock ledges and shelters, but not all areas are similarly blessed. 

 

If you do find one an overhang and have the means to build a fire, remember always put your fire just under the drip-edge of the overhead ledge and sit behind it against the back wall of the shelter (for more read “Rock Shelters or Half-Caves, That Home Away From Home, Part One ©”, HERE, “Rock Shelters or Half-Caves, That Home Away From Home, Part Two ©”, HERE, “Remember This If You Want to be Warm ©”, HERE)

 

Choice D)  Make do with the available terrain and seek protection immediately.

 

So what did you pick?  A, B, C or D?  The Air Force survival experts picked B as the correct answer, with C as a good back up if a cave could be found.

 

Did you get the right answer?  If not, it’s OK because now you know.  Hopefully you will never be in a survival situation like this, but if you are a little bit of education could save your life.

 

I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource!  To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE.  Thank you and Happy Trails!

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

Sources

 

“Could You Survive”, Spokane Daily Chronicle, September 12, 1977, Spokane Washington, Page 22, https://books.google.com/books?id=__lLAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA12&dq=%22Could+you+survive%22&article_id=3746,2800258&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjr94fXiPaXAxWXoCsGHYHVEXYQ6AF6BAgOEAM#v=onepage&q=%22Could%20you%20survive%22&f=false, accessed November 7, 2026

 

Quant, Ken; “Understanding the Two Main Causes of Sailing Winds on the Great Lakes”, August 29, 2012, https://www.greatlakesscuttlebutt.com/news/sailing/understanding-the-two-main-causes-of-sailing-winds-on-the-great-lakes/, accessed November 7, 2026

 

United States Department of Agriculture, Outdoors USA: 1967 Yearbook of Agriculture, [United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1967], p 87-89, https://archive.org/details/yoa1967/page/n3, accessed November 7, 2026