Charleston - Huntington, West Virginia -- WOWK -- 13NewsGetting your cell phone ready for winter

There's no question cell phones help when there's an emergency, but do you know how to "winterize" your cell phone?

There are a number of steps you can take to get the most bang out of your cell phone this winter.

Ilene Phillips and her husband, Keith, know how important cell phones can be. It's not uncommon to get power outages at their house.

"We actually have a generator at the house and one of the plugs actually works when we have the generator hooked up so we can charge our phones," said Ilene Phillips of Big Chimney.

AT&T advices customers to make sure your phone is fully charged before the storm arrives. Car chargers can be especially helpful to ensure you have back up power.

Another tip: use text messaging. During an emergency situation, text messages go through quicker than voice calls because they require less system resources.

And make sure all of your emergency numbers, including family members, the hospital and local police are in your phone.

Alan Hathaway of Charleston said his wife is prepared.

"She has four ICE numbers in case of emergency. Of course there's number one, which would be my contact, and then an alternate number for myself, and then her parents and my parents," said Hathaway.

Another tip: become an amateur storm tracker. Use weather apps to track the storm.

That way you'll be ready -- and so will your phone.

One other important tip: limit your non-emergency calls.

Keeping calls to a minimum will conserve batter power and free up wireless networks for emergencies.