Stigler, Oklahoma

... Winter weather preparedness day in Oklahoma...

The Oklahoma department of emergency management and the National
Weather Service have joined to focus public attention on winter
weather preparedness across Oklahoma today.

When oklahomans think of winter... usually a picture of falling snow
or freezing rain and temperatures in the 20s and 30s comes to mind.
However... winter weather can be not only dangerous... but possibly
deadly in some cases.

Winter storms are considered deceptive killers because most deaths
are indirectly related to the storm. Traffic accidents on icy roads
account for a vast majority of deaths indirectly related to the
winter weather. Heart attacks caused by shoveling snow and
hypothermia from prolonged exposure to the cold are all consequences
of severe winter weather.

Two people died of hypothermia in eastern Oklahoma during the
December 2007 ice storm. Hypothermia is the lowering of body
temperature. It can be brought on in many ways including exposure
to periods of bitterly cold weather or immersion in Cold Lake or
river water. Hypothermia is the most dangerous and life-threatening
result of exposure to extremely cold air.

Some of the warning signs associated with hypothermia are
uncontrollable shivering... memory loss... disorientation...
incoherence... slurred speech... drowsiness... and apparent exhaustion.
A good way to detect hypothermia is to take the persons temperature.
If it is below 95 degrees... seek medical care immediately. If
medical care is not available... begin warming the person slowly by
warming the body core first and then warm the extremities.

Frostbite is damage to body tissue due to it being frozen.
Frostbite causes a loss of feeling and a white or pale appearance
in extremities. If symptoms are detected... get medical help
immediately. If you must wait for help... begin to treat the
affected area by warming it slowly.

Wind chill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin
caused by the combined effects of wind and cold. As the wind
increases... heat is carried away from the body... driving down the
body temperature. At a wind chill of 18 degrees below
zero... frostbite can develop on exposed skin within 30 minutes.
Remember that animals are affected by wind chill as well.

For additional information... contact the National Weather Service
office in Tulsa at 918-838-7838 or visit our website at
www.Weather.Gov/Tulsa