Winter weather has arrived and people need to be prepared

FARGO, N.D., (KVRR) — With wind chills getting down to -34 and blizzard conditions on Saturday, winter is here.

North Dakota and Minnesota are seeing arctic air plunge down from Canada and it is not expected to warm up until next week.

But conditions like this are normal for this time of year. Tyler Thomas, a meteorologist at the Grand Forks National Weather Service, said, “We’ll Definitely be cold with those wind chills through the week, but you got to remember, average low temperatures around this time of year are hovering around that single digit to zero mark so wind chills below zero are pretty typical.”

Because of these temperatures people need to be prepared. Hats, Gloves, Scarfs and layers are needed due to the wind chill causing frostbite to set in quickly.

Thomas also said, “Once you hit that -20, -25 mark Frostbite can set in 30 minutes on exposed skin. Crossing into that -35 -40 which is more of what were seeing this morning and possibly tomorrow morning as well across parts of the area, that’s more in that 10 minute time range”.

Vehicles are also susceptible to freezing cold temperatures. Batteries may not start and these conditions could leave people stuck on the side of the road.

Thomas said, “You want to have your winter weather kit ready in your car. You want to have a hat and gloves, a snack, phone charger flashlight what have you to be ready if you do get stranded on the side of the road because these are hazardous and life threatening temperatures sometimes”

Starting your vehicle multiple times throughout the day will help battery life and keep the car going throughout the winter.