Negative economic effects may arise from damage to property and people, problems with infrastructure, general loss of business, and other factors. Winter storms, including blizzards, are sometimes deceptive killers because most deaths are related to them indirectly. The leading cause of death during winter storms is automobile and other transportation accidents. During a blizzard, fire presents an even greater danger because local water supplies may freeze, and conditions may prevent firefighters and their equipment from reaching the fires. Frostbite, hypothermia, and the wind-chill factor Exposure to the strong winds and cold temperatures that accompany blizzards can result in frostbite or hypothermia.
Frostbite is a severe reaction to cold that can permanently damage exposed tissue.
Symptoms include a loss of feeling in fingers, toes, ear lobes, nose or other exposed flesh and a white or pale appearance in the affected areas. Hypothermia is a condition that causes body temperature to drop to dangerously low levels, usually 95 degrees Fahrenheit or lower in humans. Its manifestations are uncontrollable shivering, slow speech, memory lapses, stumbling, drowsiness, and exhaustion. Both hypothermia and frostbite usually warrant medical assistance. Almost all of us have heard about wind chill on local weather forecasts and in the news.