Experts Advise Public to Stay Safe Inside and Outside During Cold Weather

Experts say there are things you can do to stay safe when temperatures drop this far, not only when you are heading outdoors, but also when it comes to making sure you can stay warm inside your home.

NORTHLAND –  Experts say there are things you can do to stay safe when temperatures drop this far, not only when you are heading outdoors, but also when it comes to making sure you can stay warm inside your home.

“You’re wearing those layers, you are keeping those areas warm and preventing them from having extended cold exposure,” said Dr. Rachel Gordon, an internal medicine physician at St. Luke’s.

Avoiding frostbite depends a lot on what you’re wearing. With no layers, it can happen in minutes. If your fingers or feet feel numb or tingling, and you continue to lose sensation, you can quickly experience significant damage to your body.

“The biggest thing is just not going out if you don’t need to go out,” said Dr. Gordon. “And if you need to go out, making sure you’re prepared. So that is multiple layers, especially on your extremities, hands, feet.”

Not only should you bundle up and take care of your body, but it’s also a great time to make sure your home heating system is ready for the extremely cold weather.

“When it’s cold, it creates a lot of issues with the furnaces cause everything, and boilers, because they’re working that much harder you know,” said Joe Ligman, the owner of Advantage Air Plumbing Heating and Cooling. “And then you have a lot snow sometimes that can affect in different ways too.”

Workers at Advantage Air Plumbing Heating and Cooling have been keeping busy doing a lot of furnace and boiler repairs.

“Make sure you’re replacing your batteries in your thermostat, the air filters on the furnaces, and checking your venting outside for any ice or snow build-up,” said Ligman.

All good reminders since this very cold weather is expected to stick around for a while.