The cold air we’re dealing with now could lead to significant health concerns for people spending long periods outside.
After an air temperature of 9 with wind chills at -10 to -20 Wednesday, temperatures have dropped to -13 with wind chills as low as -30. Wednesday’s low will shatter the current unofficial low temperature of 11 set in 2008.
Lyon County Health Officer Dr Ladun Oyenuga says frostbite and hypothermia are obvious concerns when it gets this cold. Hypothermia is a medical emergency when the core body temperature dips to 95 degrees or lower after prolonged exposure, with symptoms like shivering, exhaustion, confusion, memory loss and slurred speech. Dr Oyenuga says there are several immediate treatments that can take place.
The best move is getting the patient to proper medical attention as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, frostbite symptoms can include numbness, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy and white or grayish-yellow skin areas. Dr Oyenuga suggests getting frostbite patients into a warm area as quickly as possible and using warm water or body heat to warm any affected areas. She says rubbing frostbite areas with snow or even massaging those areas may well do more harm than good. Heating pads, heat lamps or other heating sources like stoves, fireplaces and radiators should not be used.
*Click here for information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about treating and preventing frostbite.
*Click here for information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about treating and preventing hypothermia.
*Click here for information about Emporia’s warming center locations.
5:45 am Wednesday: Dangerous cold to continue into Thursday after light snow Wednesday
Snow has stopped, but dangerously cold air remains for the KVOE listening area through much of Thursday.
An extreme cold warning continues areawide until noon Thursday, reflecting wind chills between -10 and -25 through at least Thursday morning — including a likely record low of -12 Wednesday night, well below the unofficial record low of 11 above set in 2008. Frostbite is a concern, possibly affecting exposed skin within 30 minutes. So is hypothermia, a more dangerous situation where the body’s core temperature drops to 95 degrees or lower after prolonged exposure to cold.
Emporia’s warming center locations are still available. Click here for the latest list:
This follows a snowfall of around 4 inches at the KVOE studios and similar totals areawide:
*Ninth and Burns: 4.5 inches
*Ninth and Lawrence: 4 inches
*Burlington: 5 inches
Northeasterly winds aren’t as consistent as they were Tuesday, when gusts between 20-30 mph were commonplace, but gusts are still as high as 20 mph, causing some blowing and drifting. Here’s Lyon County Engineer Chip Woods:
In Emporia, streets are snowpacked, but main streets have been bladed and are passable. Level 2 crash reporting continues in the Emporia city limits, meaning people involved in non-injury crashes can exchange insurance and other pertinent information at the wreck site and then report to Emporia Police at their earliest convenience. Highways are a mix of partly to completely snow-covered driving conditions.
Numerous schedule adjustments have been announced. Click here for the updated list.
Be sure to stay with KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media for updates on weather, travel and schedule adjustments. If you have schedule adjustments to add to our list, call KVOE at 620-342-1400, message the Bluestem Farm and Ranch text line at 620-342-5863 or email kvoe@kvoe.com.
