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Winter Weather Awareness: Wind Chill Danger

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV

900 AM EST THU NOV 17 2011

...TODAY IS DAY FIVE OF WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN WEST VIRGINIA...

THE WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK TOPIC FOR TODAY IS THE DANGERS OF WIND CHILL...

WINTER CAN BRING ABOUT A VARIETY OF WEATHER HAZARDS. ONE OF THOSE HAZARDS OFTEN GOES OVERLOOKED WITH DEADLY RESULTS. THE COMBINATION OF WIND AND LOW TEMPERATURES IN WINTER CAN LEAD TO FROSTBITE OR HYPOTHERMIA. THE WIND CHILL INDEX CAN HELP YOU DETERMINE WHEN DANGEROUS CONDITIONS DEVELOP. THIS INDEX ACCOUNTS FOR HEAT LOSS FROM THE HUMAN BODY DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF COLD AND WIND. THE CALCULATION FOR THE INDEX UTILIZES WIND SPEED IN MILES PER HOUR AND TEMPERATURE IN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

FROSTBITE OCCURS WHEN THE BODY RELIES ON SURVIVAL MECHANISMS THAT TAKE EFFECT DURING EXTREMELY COLD WEATHER. THE BODY WILL PROTECT THE VITAL INNER ORGANS FIRST. BY DOING THIS...BLOOD FLOW TO THE EXTREMITIES...SUCH AS FEET...HANDS...THE NOSE IS DIMINISHED. WHEN LESS BLOOD FLOW AND EXTREME COLD OCCUR TO THESE EXPOSED LOCATIONS THEY EVENTUALLY FREEZE.

IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE FROSTBITE...MAKE SURE THAT ALL BODY PARTS ARE COVERED. IF FROSTBITE IS OCCURRING...THE FROZEN TISSUE WILL TURN WHITE OR PALE. TO RETURN BLOOD FLOW AND WARMTH TO THE AFFECTED AREA HOLD IT CLOSELY AGAINST WARM SKIN.

THE MOST COMMON WINTER WEATHER KILLER IS HYPOTHERMIA. HYPOTHERMIA OCCURS WHEN THE CORE BODY TEMPERATURE FALLS DANGEROUSLY LOW. THE ACTUAL AIR TEMPERATURE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY FRIGID. DEATHS CAN OCCUR WITH AIR TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 30 TO 50 DEGREES. IF YOU HAVE WET CLOTHING...THE LIKELIHOOD OF HYPOTHERMIA INCREASES.

KNOWING THE WARNING SIGNS OF HYPOTHERMIA COULD SAVE A LIFE. THESE SIGNS INCLUDE UNCONTROLLABLE SHIVERING...MEMORY LOSS... DISORIENTATION...SLURRED SPEECH AND DROWSINESS. IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO VICTIMS SUSPECTED OF HAVING HYPOTHERMIA. IF IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION IS NOT POSSIBLE WARM THE VICTIM SLOWLY WITH WARM LIQUIDS...DRY CLOTHING...AND BLANKETS.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL ISSUE WIND CHILL ADVISORIES AND

WARNINGS WHEN CONDITIONS WARRANT. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WIND CHILL...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WINDCHILD WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/WINDCHILL/

THIS IS WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN WEST VIRGINIA. PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED THROUGHOUT THE WEEK TO GIVE IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION.