Winter Storm Watch - Indicates that severe weather may affect your area.
Winter Storm Warning - Indicates that a winter storm is occurring, or will occur in your area.
Freezing Rain - Rain that freezes when it hits the ground creating a coating of ice on roads, walkways, trees, and power lines.
Sleet - Turns to ice pellets before reaching the ground. Sleet also causes moisture on roads to freeze and become slippery.
Wind Chill - Calculation of how cold it feels outside when the effects of temperature and wind speed are combined.
Blizzard Warning - Sustained winds or frequent gusts to 35 miles per hour or greater and considerable amounts of falling or blowing snow are expected for a period of three hours or longer.
Frost/Freeze Warning - Below freezing temperatures are expected.
Heavy Snowfalls - Snow accumulation of four inches in a 12- hour period or six inches in a 24-hour period.
Ice Storms - Occur when freezing rain falls from clouds and freezes immediately when it touches the ground.
Frostbite - A condition where localized, sometimes permanent, damage occurs to skin and other tissue due to extreme cold. Symptoms of frostbite include a loss of feeling and a white or pale appearance in extremities such as fingers, toes, tip of the nose, and ear lobes.
Hypothermia - A condition brought on when the body temperature drops to less than 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Symptoms of hypothermia include uncontrollable shivering, slow speech, memory lapses, frequent stumbling, drowsiness, and exhaustion.
- If frostbite or hypothermia is suspected, begin warming the person slowly and seek immediate medical assistance. Warm the person's trunk first and use your own body heat to help. Arms and legs should be warmed last, because stimulation of the limbs can drive cold blood toward the heart which can lead to heart failure.
- Never give a frostbite or hypothermia victim caffeine (like coffee or tea) or alcohol. Caffeine, a stimulant, can cause the heart to beat faster and hasten the effects the cold has on the body. Alcohol, a depressant, can slow the heart and also hasten the ill effects of cold body temperatures.