Most of the United States of America have been "plunged into a deep freeze" in the past few days. The intensity and magnitude of the phenomenon was such that "cold snap" has become an understatement.
It's not America's first time to encounter extremely cold weather brought on by the polar vortex, although it's the first in about 17 years and is the coldest in 20 years, according to the Daily Mail. Considering the changes in the climate in the past few years, and the possibility that it's triggered by global warming, CNN's senior meteorologist Brandon Miller sepculates that a freezing spell such as this can happen again. And you should know what to do when it does, like now.
Layer, Layer, Layer
This is the go-to method of protecting yourself from wind chills and hypothermia. Discovery Channel's "Stuff You Should Know" co-host Chuck Bryant said in a recent piece he contributed to CNN, that you should "get yourself in a warmer environment as soon as you can" and cover yourself with anything you can find, be it pillows, blankets, or sleeping bags.
"Just as you layer your upper body clothing, you should also layer what you have on your feet. Try a thin pair of nylon, silk or wool socks for starters -- then layer with additional wool socks," Bryant suggested.
Not only that, he also recommends layering with your body if a loved one is affected by hypothermia -using your body's heat to warm up members of your family and going to sleep hugging each other.
Stay Indoors
This is actually simple but quite hard to do, judging by images of people travelling through the snowy outdoors in Arctic conditions. BBC recommends sitting out the winter freeze indoors, "with plentiful stocks of food, water, and medicine." Pets should be brought inside as well.
Hydrate
Keep yourself hydrated as well. Many would think that one needs less water in cold weather, said Bryant. However, your daily hydration requirement doesn't really change much no matter what the climate is. Just make sure you don't eat ice while hydrating, doing so will only lower your body temperature further and may trigger even more dehydration. If you live in remote, rural areas, you can melt and drink snow. To keep your water supply flowing, keep your taps open to prevent pipes from freezing, BBC advised.
Although alcohol or coffee may make you feel warmer, they dehydrate you more quickly. So, stick to water as much as possible. Or drink a lot of H20 along with your coffee.
Light Up
Warm up with fire in your fireplace, not with the stove or gas oven. You wouldn't want to get poisoned by carbon monoxide emissions.
Finally, your best step is to prepare for the next winter with enough provisions so you're worry free even if you're hit with Arctic-like weather conditions.