Coping With Cold Weather

Ken Reeves, Director of Forecast Operations for Accuweather.com, will discuss dealing with winter cold, from the best ways to keep your home warm to the warning signs of hypothermia.

Reeves was online Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 11 a.m.

A transcript follows

____________________

Ken Reeves: I am Ken Reeves, Director of Forecasting Operations for AccuWeather.com. Over the next hour, I will answer your questions about the cold and how to deal with it, but other weather questions are welcomed as well.

_______________________

Global Warming.: Can global warming be attributed to the relatively mild winters we have had the past 5-10 years or so? I recall cold waves like this being more frequent when I was a school kid over 20-25 years ago.

Ken Reeves: Global warming would not necessarily show itself in a small area but would affect the entire planet. The likelihood that any perceived warming of recent winters is attributed directly to it seems small.

_______________________

D.C.: Down jackets offer great insulation, but down doesn't breathe like Goretex with Polartec. It can get clammy real fast with down jackets. Do you agree?

Ken Reeves: The key to dealing with cold is layers, not just one heavy coat. Retaining warmth while allowing moisture to escape is the best solution

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Is it okay to run in such cold weather ?

Ken Reeves: I am a runner myself and, properly attired, there is no problem running in this type of weather. But you must go out prepared, especially if you plan on running for 20 minutes or more. You do have to be very careful about exposure and to cover any exposed skin. The dryness of the air would affect you inside or out.

_______________________

Kensington, Md.: The way I've been dealing with this cold snap is to call up my family in Minnesota, where the wind chill was about 40 below this weekend. After the phone call, it doesn't seem so cold here. Is this a valid technique?

Ken Reeves: People have different ways of dealing with the cold. Finding others more miserable than you may be is one way...although perhaps not mentally healthy!

_______________________

D.C.: WHEN WILL IT BE OVER? Will it happen again this winter? WHY WHY WHY?

I lived here all my life and do not recall this kind of cold -- we are not prepared!

Washingtonians are "weather weenies" as you must know.

Thanks

Ken Reeves: Record lows in February are generally in the single digits above and below zero in the Washington area, but most of these records are more than 50 years old. This type of cold is not extreme, especially considering what can happen in January. I think the 5-6 degree above normal December and January this winter created a situation that made this cold feel even worse

_______________________

University Park, Md.: How do you deal with frozen water in the house?

Ken Reeves: You need to be careful that your pipes have not cracked from the freezing process. Water expands when it freezes and can cause pipes to break. You need to warm the pipes. There are warming devices that are sold commercially that allow you to keep the pipes warm enough if they are prone to freezing. You can also let the water run a little since moving water is less likely to freeze. For the short term, small area, a hair dryer may help.

_______________________

Hydration: Even with a humidifier, the air in my house gets very dry (gas heat). I'm drinking water like crazy and using udder cream moisturizer, but I get dry skin and my cat is itchy as well. What can we do to deal with this?

Ken Reeves: It is not really humidity that is the true indicator but rather it is dew point. The dew point is a measure of the actual moisture in the air expressed in the form of a temperature. I suspect that your humidifier is not working efficiently or is overmatched for the square footage you are trying to deal with. If it is a portable humidifier, they are only designed for small areas, not a whole house. The most effective ones are actually hooked to the heating system. But, keep in mind, humidifying the air will cost you more in heating since evaporating water into the air requires energy.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: submmiting from my treo:

how do i unstick my tongue from this flagpole?

Ken Reeves: Maybe you shouldn't (natural selection)!

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: I grew up in central Pennsylvania and have lived in the D.C. region since 2000, and, after spending several winters here, I have this to say to everyone: an inch of snow does NOT equal Armageddon. In Pennsylvania, I saw snowstorms FAR worse than we've ever received here, and life itself wasn't required to shut down in response. What bothers me the most about D.C. is that, when it does snow, the roads barely get plowed, and nothing meaningful is thrown down onto the roads to help gain traction (sand doesn't really help, either).

I don't mean to sound cynical or judgmental, but coming from an area that's seen far worse winter weather than here, D.C. could really benefit from a crash course in coping skills.

Ken Reeves: You see this all over the country. I was in San Antonio for the American Meteorological Society convention last month and they had a little rain with temperatures at freezing, which iced up elevated surfaces. The whole city came to a standstill. In the north, people would have just kept right on going. It is what people are used to and the tools they have to cope with it that dictate reaction.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: When people from northern states say things like, "you think this is cold? This is nothing compared to back home!" Am I legally allowed to punch them in the face?

Ken Reeves: Probably not

_______________________

Silver Spring, Md.: Is it acceptable to call in "cold" for work?

Ken Reeves: Only if you want to call unemployment on the next phone call...ha ha...actually, there are jobs that have work rules to protect workers outside during extreme cold or hot weather.

_______________________

Southern Maryland: Hey Ken, yes it's cold - brrrr! But like your previous chatter noted, it's not as cold here as it is up north. My sister lives in North Dakota (don't ask why) and she said the windchill was like 50 below the other day. Can't even leave the house. As for our cold spell, maybe it'll kill off the bad germs that make us all sick this time of year. On another note, come July 27 when it's 95 in the shade, you come back to this chat and you'll hear from us complaining about the heat...just can't win.

Ken Reeves: The weather is always a topic of conversation and I think the more dramatic the weather, the more people have to talk about. I would be happy to hear from the heat complainers in July!

_______________________

Wheaton, Md.: What can I do to keep my apartment warm (besides using the heat, of course) that will help save money on my gas bill? Thanks.

Ken Reeves: The age of a building plays a role at how well it can stay warm. Openings are where much of the heat is lost...doors, windows, etc. Anything you can do to control the loss of heat in those areas would help. Cover the windows with the clear wrap that adds an extra layer of protection from the cold. Put a draft catcher at the bottom of the door. Install a storm door if you have an outside access, keep the flue closed on any fireplace (while it is not in use!)

_______________________

Bethesda, Md.: Does the wind chill affect things like pipes? In other words, can the wind chill make a pipe freeze faster if it is exposed to the wind, or is it simply a matter of the air temperature?

Ken Reeves: The reason why your skin feels colder with the wind is that heat is moved away from your skin. If your skin is wet and the wind is blowing, now you add the evaporation factor as well. We sweat in the summer as a natural body reaction to cool off. Wet surfaces can experience additional cooling from evaporation.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Hi Mr. Reeves,

What do you think of drinking hot tea or eating spicy foods to stay warm (sort of a warm-you-from-the-inside-out idea)?

Thanks

Ken Reeves: Maintaining core body temperature is critical to keep away hypothermia. Hot tea probably would help. Spicy foods may not. If you sweat from the spiciness of the food, that would cause more evaporation and result in cooling rather than warming

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Leaving aside record-breaking years, we could call this "colder than average", yes? And last summer, I think, was warmer than average. We had those days where it was already 90 degrees by 9 a.m.

Does this pattern of seasonal extremes have historical precedent?

Ken Reeves: Averages are made of up deviations warm and cold. Sometimes they are extreme but more often they are not. Swings are common and make up what we call weather. If you look at Chicago in the 1980s, there were six straight winters that the temperatures were either in the top 20 warmest or coldest -- nothing in the middle. Rarely to you have an average season where the temperatures were almost always average. It is more likely in places with smaller extremes...like Miami or San Diego

_______________________

Minneapolis, Minn.: Why do the meteorologists and newscasters love going right to the "windchill factor" in reporting the weather. It was 30 below in Hallock, Minn., yesterday but was quickly followed by ". . .but it was 75,000 degrees below in the windchill factor." Isn't 30 below cold enough?

Ken Reeves: You are probably right. In extreme temperature situations, it is less valuable to talk about windchill or real feel since the temperature is extreme enough. It is those times where the temperature does not look as bad but may feel much worse due to other factors.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: I've never had pipes freeze, but this cold weather is making me nervous. Is there anything I should do, such as keep a bit of water running, to ensure it doesn't happen?

Ken Reeves: If you have not had this problem over a long period of home or apartment ownership, then it probably will not be a problem. Running water is much less likely to freeze but it does not have to be a torrent of water...just a trickle.

_______________________

Fairfax, Va.: With the current weather conditions, approximately how long should you let your vehicle run in the morning to properly warm up the engine?

Ken Reeves: Many of the new cars are not supposed to be warmed up for a long period. It actually can allow moisture to build up in the exhaust system and speed up rusting. A car with good oil and all the other fluids at proper levels probably does not to be on more than 30 seconds before moving. However, the car may be too cold for you after that short a time!

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: The thing is that half the people in D.C. are transplants from places where it gets colder. So it makes no sense that we are not prepared to deal with cold weather.

In places like Texas, however, ice and snow are rarities and it doesn't make sense for them to have plows and salt/sand trucks.

Ken Reeves: Agreed. D.C.ers should be more prepared for this type of weather. It is not that uncommon

_______________________

Rockville, Md.: How does it make sense to spend millions to move snow that will melt the next day or so?

Ken Reeves: Well, when it snows tomorrow morning a little and temperatures don't get above freezing for days, would you want to still be driving on snow? The economy of our nation needs to have transportation working as effectively as possible and that usually means roads without snow as often as possible

_______________________

Windchill calculation: Hello,

Could you please list the formula used to calculate windchill? I think it involves wind speed multiplied by some factor and then subtracted?

Thank you

Ken Reeves: The windchill...or Real Feel as we here at AccuWeather.com use...are both elaborate equations. Our Real Feel factors in sunlight, wind, humidity, precipitation as well as temperature. The windchill used by others has a less elaborate process to figure it out but is still somewhat based on observation rather than equations, which makes it difficult to accurately program into a computer

_______________________

Silver Spring, Md.: Hi there. My husband and I had an extremely high Pepco bill for December (especially given the warm weather and the fact that our apartment is only 1,000 square feet). That scared us into very, very infrequent usage of our heat. Our apartment was 51 degrees this morning. Besides making us Popsicles, is there any damage to the things in our house that can be done by keeping it so cold? Thanks!

Ken Reeves: You should have your heating system checked out since December was a rather mild month compared to normal, but, with the current cold spell, it would probably take them a while to get to you. It sounds like a real problem. More than likely, there are no issues with temperatures above 50 degrees in your apartment. But effectiveness of certain things such as medicine does decrease with exposure to low or high temperatures. Keep an eye on any liquids you have in the apartment as well.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: My 30-pound dog has a pretty thick coat, but do I need to put a sweater on her when it's this cold? Since her human can't stand the cold for more than 10 minutes, we aren't out for too long.

Ken Reeves: I appreciate your concern about your pet. Too often, the effects of weather on them are overlooked. Your dog is probably okay if the trip outside is not long. Make sure she does not go in the water outside and protect her paws from the salt and snow, if possible. A sweater is probably not needed, although if she does start to shiver, that may be an indication that additional precautions are needed. Older and younger dogs, like humans, are more sensitive to temperature issues. NEVER leave your dog outside in this weather without proper access to shelter and non-frozen water!

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: I've been boiling water on the stove (scented with some cinnamon sticks) just to relieve some of the dryness in my apartment. I have no idea if it's effective, but it smells good.

Ken Reeves: You are humidifying your house using the stove and it will work like a store-bought humidifier. Just be careful to keep an eye on the pan to not let it dry out.

_______________________

D.C.: For those that store water, soda, beer, etc. in their garages, how long can we get by with this cold weather before we need to bring that stuff into the warm house?

Ken Reeves: I have found this problem creeping up on me as well. It depends on how warm your garage is and whether you keep the door open or closed. If you are someone with the door open frequently, you should have already brought it in. If you keep it shut virtually all of the time and there is some warmth in there, then you may be able to keep it out. Err on the side of caution if you are concerned.

_______________________

Silver Spring, Md.: With the air so dry, I have been getting bloody noses fairly regularly and everyone including the cat has dry skin. We live in an apartment, so we can't hook up a humidifier to the heating system. What can we do to relieve some of this dryness?

Ken Reeves: There are stand alone humidifiers that you can purchase for probably $35. I would get one for each of the bigger rooms

_______________________

Bowie, Md.: At what temperature would you think it would be appropriate to close schools and businesses?

Ken Reeves: It depends on the risk associated with the business or school. At AccuWeather.com, we advise hundreds of schools and businesses in your area about how to deal with what the weather throws at them. However, it really is up to the individual as to what to do. How long does the average student have to be outside to walk or ride to school? Is there a health threat to your workers? All of this has to be assessed.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Is it just me, or is snow incredibly hard for meteorologists to forecast? Time and again it seems it gets called for and never materializes. Like last week when it was supposed to snow, but didn't, save for a little ice. Tonight it's forecasted, but I'm skeptical.

Ken Reeves: Snow can be one of the more difficult items to forecast because it is the combination of a certain temperature and precipitation at the same time. Many meteorologists have a snow bias because they can see the way it can snow out of rather small events. Tonight's is tracking through the Midwest right now. It seems like a little snow...inch or two...seems inevitable, although the heaviest will probably fall in and west of the mountains.

_______________________

River City: People from further north often fail to realize that driving in winter weather can be more dangerous down here because our warmer atmosphere melts snow as it falls, but it then freezes when it hits the road. Driving on icy roads in Virginia can be way more dangerous than on snowy roads in Minnesota.

Ken Reeves: There are greater risks in different parts of the country. Snow squalls in western New York dump huge quantities of snow and reduce visibility to 25 feet at times. Icy road do tend to be harder to navigate than snowy ones.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: The temperature in my bedroom was 55 degrees this morning -- and that was with the central heat cranked up above 70? any tips on staying warm? I layered my pajamas, have multiple blankets on the bed, and have a space heater, but I'm STILL cold and my sinuses are killing from all of the dry air...

Ken Reeves: Well, dealing with the dry air by humidifying it will only make it worse since it will require more energy to heat. Perhaps you can shut certain vents in the house at night that can focus more of the heat into your bedroom. The layers sound good along with the extra heater.

_______________________

Plowing snow: You have to plow snow, or else it will turn to ice. Also, there are those of us that have to go to work no matter what (hospital workers, etc.) I couldn't believe the first morning I went to go to work after it snowed and Connecticut Avenue was untouched by a plow!!!!

Ken Reeves: Emergency personnel do have to get through regardless....I have to make it to work even if there is a foot of snow on the roads. It also makes it easier if you do it several times a storm rather than waiting until the end and move it all.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Hi Ken--

Perhaps a stupid question, but I ride my bicycle to work (only about seven miles each way), and I am a bit worried, as when I got into the office this morning, I couldn't really feel my thumbs. They have since warmed up (obviously, I'm typing!), and I have lots of layered/cold-weather gear, but are there any hints to avoid really suffering? Avoid going downhill to reduce wind against your face/body? Thanks!

Ken Reeves: Riding a bike does have the extra problem of the wind created by your movement. The same problem would exist if you hang your head outside your car while going 20 mph...although you may have trouble steering. When faced with that situation, I cover all exposed skin, wear mittens and pull my thumb in with the rest of my fingers for warmth. If you get into a racer position on the bike, you will also reduce wind resistance

_______________________

Washington, D.C.:"When people from northern states say things like, "you think this is cold? This is nothing compared to back home!" Am I legally allowed to punch them in the face?"

As a native of freezing and snowy Upstate New York, I'd like to say that I think it is really, really COLD!

Ken Reeves: When it drops to 10 degrees in D.C., it is cold...there is no debate.

_______________________

Formerly New England: Hey Washington D.C. --

We only say that because you're such big babies and wear gloves and scarves when it's 55 degrees outside. Plus, a trace of snow and I can't find any milk, bread or toilet paper in the supermarket.

Ken Reeves: The social reaction to weather forecasts is interesting and is actually being studied by meteorologists. I know that if I was stuck in my house for three days, I would not starve.

_______________________

Silver Spring, Md.: It drives me crazy when people who've come from other places tell us we can't deal with winter weather. 1. We get totally weird weather here, with a lot of ice and almost-ice and snow-that-wants-to-be-ice. And we don't get enough of it every year to get serious practice dealing with it. 2. Right, we can't deal with it. You're morally superior to us. We get it. SHUT UP ALREADY.

Rant over.

Ken Reeves: Thanks for the rant. People in western New York learn to deal with their weather. People in D.C. learn to deal with their weather and people in Texas learn to deal as well. It is all different and requires adjustment....then you become just like the locals.

_______________________

Los Angeles: Okay, I'm not gloating, well, kinda, but it's been in the 80s here, SoCal is the best.

My question is, in short, what is up with the weather this winter? Out here we've gone from highs in the 50s (cold for here) to 80s and back again. We had lows in the 20s a couple weeks ago, now it's 85 again. Very little rain but very dry with bi-weekly Santa Ana winds.

Just a couple months ago we were told that El Nino would cause a rainy winter, now we're told that it's going to be dryer than usual. How are we to believe the scientific community when they predict "global warming" when they can't even predict the weather a month in advance? Not buying it.

Ken Reeves: The global warming issue is an interesting one and I would love to discuss it with you but time is running short. At AccuWeather.com, we predicted that the El Nino would fall apart before the winter was through and that would cause problems with what many other forecasters were calling for. This just underscores that there are many other factors that go into longer range weather predictions and that the complexity of these really makes the forecasting of this challenging.

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: This is the kind of weather that makes me glad I have my furnace inspected every fall.

Ken Reeves: You are smart. There are probably many people that wish they had already done that.

_______________________

Covington, Tex.: What's causing these huge chunks of ice to fall out of a very near clear sky? Good Lord the most recent photo of a "ice block" event crushed a car's roof to the top of the rear seats. This block probably weighed in at 200 to 300 pounds. There was no reports of nearby aircraft in the vicinity and even if their was... dumping toilet waste at altitude was banned many years ago. It is simply not done anymore.

Ken Reeves: There are big chunks of natural ice that fall from the sky in the midsection of the nation but nothing that big! It must of fell off or out of something since there could never be enough upward motion to keep something that heavy in the air for a long period. A tornado could pick something up that heavy and throw it but not from a clear sky.

_______________________

Ken Reeves: Thanks for all of your questions. It was a lively hour plus. Hope you all manage to stay warm....remember, the groundhog said winter was over. Just think what it would be like right now if it was not!

_______________________

Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.