Even though the crazy winter weather is still a ways off for central Illinois, the National Weather Service says it's not too early to start thinking about winter preparedness.

Ed Shimon at the National Weather Service in Lincoln says winter weather usually picks up after the first of the year, at least in recent years. With that in mind, start thinking about those winter preparedness kits for your vehicles.

If you're worried about how much snow is going to fall and its impact on your travel, he says just a half of an inch of snow can impact roads and driving conditions. He preaches safety, safety, safety.

Ice and snow can also impact power in central Illinois if there's enough of it. He points anyone wanting home preparedness information for winter power outages to visit the National Weather Service website, weather.gov/lincoln.