This Is How The Cold Duluth Weather Can Become Dangerous

Here we are again, the wind blowing at you making you shiver and put on extra clothes. It's cold enough you have to wear gloves to use your car keys because it doesn't have to be very cold to be dangerous.

It can get cold in the Northland, but it doesn't have to be that cold in order to freeze your skin or get hypothermia. You would be surprised that it isn't the temperature, it's the amount of time you spend in the cold that makes a difference.

According to Live Science, you can get frostbite at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Of course, all of us know the wind can make your body feel colder. That's called wind chill. Being from the North, we all grow up with wind chill knowledge, right? All the wind has to do is blow that cold at you and you will start to freeze.

According to KWQC, the Wind Chill is the temperature your body feels not the temperature the air is. So with the proper wind, a temperature can feel sometimes 30 degrees colder than the air temperature.

The National Weather Service explains it pretty well. When your body gets cold, it tries to conserve heat so it cuts heat to the extremities, in other words, your hands, feet, arms, legs, ears, and nose. They will be the first to freeze and get what is called frostbite.

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National Weather Service says when the temperature of the whole body drops, that's called Hypothermia. The way you know you have that is you want to sleep. Weather.gov says first you shiver, that's the body trying to make heat. When your body tires out or finds the temperature still falling, then it starts to go into sleep mode.

They go on to explain how the body copes. 98.6 F core temp is normal, when it falls to 96, the body is cold. 95 degrees F and you feel uncomfortable, you shiver, and the beginning of hypothermia sets in. When it hits 91 F, people can get amnesia. They act a little crazy, may see things, and sometimes take their clothes off, because the wrong signals are being sent to the brain. Then, they will want to sleep. T82 F, that's it, the body shuts down and freezes at 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

What do you do? Dress in many layers, stay warm, drink warm liquids, and if you feel you are getting cold, getting inside is best, but you should start a fire if you are out in the woods and get near it. I know, pretty basic, but it's what needs to be done.