ST. LOUIS – You are waking up to temperatures in the 60s on Monday morning. However, snow and ice will likely hit the bi-state soon enough.
Monday is the first day of winter ‘Weather Preparedness Week.’ Meteorologists at the National Weather Service are taking this time to encourage people to plan ahead for extreme cold and frozen weather.
In a startling report from the Department of Health and Senior Services, 52 people lost their lives in Missouri last year due to prolonged exposure to the cold. The goal of Winter Weather Preparedness Week is to prevent those tragedies.
The NWS and state emergency management agencies will provide tips throughout the week on how to protect yourself from hypothermia and frost bite, stay safe on the roads during frozen weather, put together emergency kits for your car and home, and safely use and maintain generators and space heaters. Emergency managers and the National Weather Service will share winter weather safety messaging on social media.
Each day will focus on a different theme. Monday’s theme is winter weather terminology. The other topics are ice safety, snow safety, extreme cold, and planning for snow and ice. Within the last hour, FOX 2 spoke with senior meteorologist Mark Britt about why reminding people about the possible dangers of winter is so important:
“We do this every year,” Britt explained. “We just want people to get ready. The winter is getting ready to start. And so we just want people to be prepared to get ready for winter, to realize that winter is upon us to review their safety information so that they’re ready when the first snow or ice hits the area.”
