After a frosty New Year’s celebration, overnight temperatures are expected to continue dipping into single digits this week.
According to the most recent AccuWeather forecast Tuesday afternoon, the lows will hit 6 degrees Thursday and 8 degrees Friday.
With those chilly extremes, make sure to take proper precautions to prevent a potentially dangerous medical emergency.
The National Weather Service offers the following tips for the home, car, and personal attire.
HOME
Make sure your home is well insulated and you have weather stripping around your doors and window sills to keep the warm air inside.
Make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector. Each year, an average of 430 Americans die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, and there are more than 20,000 visits to the emergency room with more than 4,000 hospitalizations.
Keep fire extinguishers on hand, and make sure everyone in your house knows how to use them.
House fires pose an additional risk, as more people turn to alternate heating sources without taking the necessary safety precautions.
Learn how to shut off water valves in case a pipe bursts.
If you have a wood-burning fireplace, consider storing wood to keep you warm if winter weather knocks out your heat. Also, make sure you have your chimney cleaned and inspected every year.
Have an alternate heat source in case power goes out. The primary hazards to avoid when using alternate sources for electricity, heating or cooking are carbon monoxide poisoning, electric shock and fire.
People who depend on electricity to operate medical equipment should have alternate arrangements in place in case power is out for an extended period of time.
Plan to bring pets inside.
VEHICLE
Fully winterize your vehicle. Have a mechanic check antifreeze, brakes, heater and defroster, tires, and windshield wipers to ensure they are in good shape. Keep your gas tank at least half full.
Keep an extra emergency kit specifically created for your car. In addition to the basic essentials, consider adding a portable cellphone charger, ice scraper, extra blanket, sand for traction and jumper cables.
Have rock salt, or more environmentally safe products, to melt ice.
PERSONAL TIPS
Stay indoors during storms.
Avoid overexertion when shoveling snow. Overexertion can bring on a heart attack — a major cause of death in the winter.
Use caution, take breaks, push the snow instead of lifting it when possible, and lift lighter loads.
Keep dry. Change wet clothing frequently to prevent a loss of body heat. Wet clothing loses all of its insulating value and transmits heat rapidly.
If you must go outside, wear several layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing rather than one layer of heavy clothing.
The outer garments should be tightly woven and water repellent.Wear mittens, which are warmer than gloves. Wear a hat and cover your mouth with a scarf to reduce heat loss.
Frostbite is a serious condition that’s caused by exposure to extremely cold temperatures.
It is characterized by a white or grayish-yellow skin area, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy, and numbness. If you detect symptoms of frostbite, seek medical care.
Hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature, is a dangerous condition that can occur when a person is exposed to extremely cold temperatures.
Hypothermia is caused by prolonged exposures to very cold temperatures. When exposed to cold temperatures, your body begins to lose heat faster than it’s produced. Lengthy exposures will eventually use up your body’s stored energy, which leads to lower body temperature.
