Michelle Basch, wtop.com

WASHINGTON — It’s hard to predict where you’ll be exactly when the next big snowstorm hits, but local leaders have some places they want you to stay away from if possible.

Just remember S-N-O-W. It stands for STAY off the roads, NOT OUT in the WEATHER.

That’s the message the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments wants to get out this season.

COG has produced a 30 second public service announcement that will air on local cable TV stations.

“We don’t want you on the roads when the weather is bad, so if you have to stay in your office, or stay and home and not go into the office,” says Merni Fitzgerald, who leads a regional coordinating committee within COG.

About 70 percent of deaths related to snow and ice happen in cars, and involve crashes and hypothermia.

Fitzgerald says when bad weather threatens, residents need to monitor information providers like WTOP and WTOP.com

The message is especially important in the wake of January’s “Commute From Hell” during which some people spent the equivalent of a full workday trapped in gridlock in their cars.

Nasty weather and other natural disasters can happen at any time, for instance the August earthquake rattled us in the middle of a workday.

That’s why you should consider keeping a “go-kit” of emergency supplies with you at all times: things like snacks, extra medicine, and a blanket.

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(Copyright 2011 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)