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West Virginia Winter Weather Awareness Week November 13th - November 19th, 2011

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has designated the week of November 13 through November 19, 2011 as West Virginia Winter Weather Awareness Week. The National Weather Service in Charleston, WV will take this opportunity to educate and remind all West Virginians of common hazards associated with the winter season. In addition, practical tips and information will be provided on how to keep safe throughout the upcoming winter.

West Virginia Winter Weather Awareness Week Schedule
Sunday, November 13	Introduction to Winter Weather Awareness Week
Monday, November 14	Watches, Warnings, Advisories
Tuesday, Novemver 15	Winter Travel and Safety
Wednesday, November 16	Winter Weather Safety at Home and Work
Thursday, November 17	Frostbite and Hypothermia
Friday, November 18	School Safety
Saturday, November 19	Review of Winter Weather Awareness Week

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
900 AM EST THU NOV 17 2011


...TODAY IS DAY FIVE OF WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN WEST 
VIRGINIA...


THE WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK TOPIC FOR TODAY IS THE DANGERS OF 
WIND CHILL...


WINTER CAN BRING ABOUT A VARIETY OF WEATHER HAZARDS. ONE OF THOSE 
HAZARDS OFTEN GOES OVERLOOKED WITH DEADLY RESULTS. THE COMBINATION 
OF WIND AND LOW TEMPERATURES IN WINTER CAN LEAD TO FROSTBITE OR 
HYPOTHERMIA. THE WIND CHILL INDEX CAN HELP YOU DETERMINE WHEN 
DANGEROUS CONDITIONS DEVELOP. THIS INDEX ACCOUNTS FOR HEAT LOSS FROM 
THE HUMAN BODY DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF COLD AND WIND. THE 
CALCULATION FOR THE INDEX UTILIZES WIND SPEED IN MILES PER HOUR AND 
TEMPERATURE IN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.  


FROSTBITE OCCURS WHEN THE BODY RELIES ON SURVIVAL MECHANISMS THAT 
TAKE EFFECT DURING EXTREMELY COLD WEATHER. THE BODY WILL PROTECT THE 
VITAL INNER ORGANS FIRST. BY DOING THIS...BLOOD FLOW TO THE 
EXTREMITIES...SUCH AS FEET...HANDS...THE NOSE IS DIMINISHED. WHEN 
LESS BLOOD FLOW AND EXTREME COLD OCCUR TO THESE EXPOSED LOCATIONS 
THEY EVENTUALLY FREEZE. 


IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE FROSTBITE...MAKE SURE THAT ALL BODY PARTS ARE 
COVERED. IF FROSTBITE IS OCCURRING...THE FROZEN TISSUE WILL TURN 
WHITE OR PALE. TO RETURN BLOOD FLOW AND WARMTH TO THE AFFECTED AREA 
HOLD IT CLOSELY AGAINST WARM SKIN.


THE MOST COMMON WINTER WEATHER KILLER IS HYPOTHERMIA. HYPOTHERMIA 
OCCURS WHEN THE CORE BODY TEMPERATURE FALLS DANGEROUSLY LOW. THE 
ACTUAL AIR TEMPERATURE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY FRIGID. DEATHS 
CAN OCCUR WITH AIR TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 30 TO 50 DEGREES. IF YOU 
HAVE WET CLOTHING...THE LIKELIHOOD OF HYPOTHERMIA INCREASES.


KNOWING THE WARNING SIGNS OF HYPOTHERMIA COULD SAVE A LIFE. THESE 
SIGNS INCLUDE UNCONTROLLABLE SHIVERING...MEMORY LOSS... 
DISORIENTATION...SLURRED SPEECH AND DROWSINESS. IMMEDIATE MEDICAL 
ATTENTION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO VICTIMS SUSPECTED OF HAVING 
HYPOTHERMIA. IF IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION IS NOT POSSIBLE WARM THE 
VICTIM SLOWLY WITH WARM LIQUIDS...DRY CLOTHING...AND BLANKETS.


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL ISSUE WIND CHILL ADVISORIES AND 
WARNINGS WHEN CONDITIONS WARRANT. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WIND 
CHILL...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WINDCHILD WEBSITE AT 
HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/WINDCHILL/


THIS IS WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IN WEST VIRGINIA. PUBLIC 
INFORMATION STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED THROUGHOUT THE WEEK TO GIVE 
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION.