GOVERNOR BOB MCDONNELL HAS DECLARED THE WEEK DECEMBER 5 TO 11...2010
AS WINTER PREPAREDNESS WEEK IN VIRGINIA. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
OFFICES SERVING VIRGINIA...IN COOPERATION WITH THE VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT...WILL SEND PUBLIC INFORMATION
STATEMENTS EACH DAY THROUGH SATURDAY AT APPROXIMATELY 11 AM.
THESE STATEMENTS WILL FOCUS ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF WINTER WEATHER 
...AND PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS THE PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE FOR THE UPCOMING WINTER SEASON.

TODAY'S TOPIC...COLD WEATHER PREPAREDNESS AND WIND CHILL

COLD TEMPERATURES ARE JUST A FACT OF WINTER. COLD OUTBREAKS OCCUR
SEVERAL TIMES EACH WINTER ACROSS THE MID ATLANTIC REGION. WITH THESE
COLD TEMPERATURES COMES AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF HOUSE FIRES.
ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION...A HOUSE FIRE IS
REPORTED TO A FIRE DEPARTMENT IN THE UNITED STATES EVERY ONE AND A HALF
MINUTES...AND SOMEONE DIES IN A HOUSE FIRE EVERY TWO AND A HALF HOURS.

NEARLY TWO OF EVERY THREE HOME HEATING FIRES IN THE U.S. ARE ATTRIBUTED
TO SPACE HEATING EQUIPMENT. ALL TYPES OF COMMON SPACE HEATING EQUIPMENT
ARE INVOLVED IN HOME FIRES. ELECTRIC HEATERS...KEROSENE HEATERS...WOOD
STOVES...FIREPLACES...AND GAS HEATERS. COMMON CAUSES OF SPACE HEATING
HOME FIRES ARE LACK OF REGULAR CLEANING OF CHIMNEYS AND CONNECTORS...
PLACING SPACE HEATERS TOO CLOSE TO COMBUSTIBLES...AND FUELING ERRORS
INVOLVING LIQUID OR GAS FUELED HEATING EQUIPMENT.

THE RED CROSS RECOMMENDS TAKING THE FOLLOWING PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO
HELP MINIMIZE THE CHANCE AND EFFECTS OF FIRE.

1. BE CAREFUL WITH CANDLES. COLDER TEMPERATURES USUALLY RESULT IN MORE
BURNING OF CANDLES DURING THE WINTER SEASON THAN ANY OTHER TIME OF YEAR.
WINTER STORMS AND POWER OUTAGES FURTHER INCREASES THE USE OF CANDLES IN
THE HOME. KEEP CANDLES AWAY FROM COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS. NEVER LEAVE
CHILDREN UNATTENDED IN A ROOM WITH LIT CANDLES. KEEP CANDLES, MATCHES
AND LIGHTERS OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN.

2. INSPECT FIREPLACES AND WOOD STOVES. HAVE YOUR CHIMNEY CONNECTIONS AND
FLUES INSPECTED BY A PROFESSIONAL AND CLEANED IF NECESSARY PRIOR TO THE
START OF EVERY HEATING SEASON.

3. USE A STURDY SCREEN OR DOOR IN FRONT OF YOUR FIREPLACE WHEN BURNING
FIRES.

4. BURN ONLY WOOD. NEVER BURN PAPER...INCLUDING DISCARDED GIFT WRAP...OR
PINE BOUGHS.

5. DO NOT HANG HOLIDAY DECORATIONS FROM...OR ON...YOUR FIREPLACE...IF
YOU PLAN TO USE IT AS A HEAT SOURCE.

6. CHECK SMOKE DETECTORS. MAKE SURE DETECTORS ARE WORKING PROPERLY AND
THAT NEW BATTERIES ARE INSTALLED.

7. BE AWARE OF OVERLOADED ELECTRICAL OUTLETS. DO NOT OVERLOAD YOUR
ELECTRICAL OUTLETS...AND AVOID LAYING EXTENSION CORDS ACROSS WALKWAYS.

9. HAVE ONE OR MORE WORKING FIRE EXTINGUISHERS IN YOUR HOME. MOST FIRE
DEPARTMENTS WILL PROVIDE TRAINING ON HOW TO USE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.
MANY PEOPLE FALL VICTIM TO FIRES IN THEIR HOMES DURING THE WINTER. THIS
FACT MEANS THAT EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER...TEST FIRE
DETECTORS IN THEIR HOME AND REPLACE ANY BROKEN DETECTORS AND DEAD
BATTERIES.

WIND CHILL INDEX

THE WIND CHILL INDEX IS WINTER'S VERSION OF THE SUMMERTIME HEAT INDEX.
THE HEAT INDEX ATTEMPTS TO ASSESS THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF HOT
TEMPERATURES AND HIGH RELATIVE HUMIDITY ON THE HUMAN BODY'S ABILITY TO
COOL ITSELF. THE WIND CHILL INDEX ATTEMPTS TO MEASURE THE COMBINED
EFFECT OF WIND AND COLD TEMPERATURES ON THE BODY'S ABILITY TO RETAIN
HEAT...AND AVOID HYPOTHERMIA.

THE THRESHOLD FOR WIND CHILL ADVISORIES ISSUED FOR VIRGINIA
CITIZENS IS 5 DEGREES BELOW ZERO...AND THE WIND CHILL WARNING THRESHOLD
IS 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS CAN BE
OBTAINED ON-LINE THROUGH THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT HOME PAGE AT:

WWW.VAEMERGENCY.COM/THREATS/WINTER/INDEX.CFM

IN ADDITION...THE READY VIRGINIA WEB SITE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED 
TO AID VIRGINIANS IN THEIR OVERALL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS:

WWW.READYVIRGINIA.GOV...ENGLISH VERSION/
WWW.LISTOVIRGINIA.GOV...SPANISH VERSION/

UP-TO-DATE WEATHER INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON-LINE FROM THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT: WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BLACKSBURG.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS HOME PAGE IS:
WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/WINTER/INDEX.SHTML