The high today for Truckee is 33, and there are a few inches on the ground. The winter switch has been flipped. Every year this takes everyone by surprise, however, any mountain citizen needs to be prepared anytime after Labor Day. The last beautiful 6 weeks have been a bonus. We did go from fall to winter somewhere on Sunday morning, when Daylight Savings kicked in.

There are several things you can do to prepare yourself NOW for the onslaught of winter:

Are you driving around with bald summer tires? Your that person holding up traffic on Northwoods! Visit Stones Tires on Comstock Drive in Truckee. They are competive with pricing and will rotate your tires for free if you purchased tires from them.

If you have a woodstove, order at least 4 cords of wood, preferably hard wood. Also, a chimney clean is a good idea to not have any kind of a chimney fire mid-winter. It is also a good idea to have your furnace serviced; replace your filters, and tune up or replace your furnace if it is older than you are.

Truckee Rents on West River in Truckee will tune up your snowblower for winter, and they also sell snowblowers. Honda seems to be the reigning champion for longevity.

Contact your local plow guy, if you dont want to do your own snow blowing.

If you havent already, you will probaby pay too much for your season pass, since most ski areas ended their pre-season deals 10/31/10...but still. That is why we live here so make sure you have a pass to somewhere so you can enjoy the inconvenience of living in a winter wonderland!