The basement windows are below grade and there are window wells. To keep water out or the window well I have plastic covers over them. To protect the plastic wells which cost about $20 a piece, every time it snows very much I put a piece of plywood over them so the snow from the roof does not land on them and break them. If there is a big snow like this the snow can actually break through the plastic and then knock out the window panes and wind up in the basement. Then one has a lot of work to do.