Road salt not working in
Arctic chill

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Wednesday night will bring lows below zero in inland areas with temperatures ranging from -1 to -10. The problem will be the wind that will increase producing wind chills in the range of -10 to -25 degrees.

Thursday will be the coldest day in nearly two years with highs in the single digits and wind chills continuing between -10 to -25 degrees.

Temperatures are reaching single figures and wind chills over the next several days will likely spend a substantial amount of time between 0 and 20 below zero. In this range, frostbite can occur within about 30 minutes time.

Wind chills in parts of central and northern Canada were between 30 and 55 below Monday. Often times our air temperatures, and therefore wind chills, are moderated slightly thanks to Lake Michigan and its “relatively” warm temperature.

The wind chill is a factor used to determine how cold the air feels to exposed skin by taking into effect both the actual air temperature and the wind speed. It is the reason that a 20-degree day with a 25 mph wind feels so much colder than a 20-degree day with a calm or nearly calm wind.

The National Weather Service has a specially formulated chart for calculating the wind chill . The Wind Chill Chart has been around for years, but this newest version was updated in 2001 taking into account specific effects on the human body. Another improvement to this latest version is that it includes time necessary for frostbite to occur.

Frostbite occurs when a part of the body actually freezes. This occurs first on ears, noses, fingers, and toes. Of course it can also progress to feet, hands, etc. if the person is not brought to a warmer environment quickly.

Symptoms of frostbite include itching, burning, or numbness. This is one of the reasons to dress appropriately when spending any length of time outdoors. Make sure to cover all extremities and it is best to dress in layers.

You may even want to take frequent breaks to warm up when a job, such as shoveling the driveway, is going to take a significant amount of time.

Although objects such as your vehicle are not affected by the wind chill, your furry friends are, so be sure to keep a close eye on your pets, and if possible, keep them in your home or a sheltered structure of some sort.

Schools officials need to keep a close eye on the weather and the temperatures, affecting whether to keep students inside for recess, delay the start of school or cancel school.

Kent ISD superintendents have a long-standing policy that if the windchills hit -30, school is closed. Still, each district makes their own call, even if it's not that cold.

"Many of our kids walk to bus stops, so they'll come out 20 to 30 minutes prior to a bus arriving," said Larry Johnson from GRPS. "We're going to look at ice build up on our playgrounds, as it gets colder. We're concerned over sidewalks not being shoveled. Putting our kids on the street, there's more ice because ice is freezing over quickly now."

School districts in West Michigan by and large decide how to deal with bitterly cold temperatures and wind chills on a case by case basis.

In Kalamazoo, there is no set temperature that triggers a closing or indoor recess. Principals decide each time about recess for students.

In Portage, if frostbite can occur within 30 minutes (determined by a wind/temperature chart), students will have indoor recess. They also determine school closings on a case by case basis.

In Coopersville, officials make the call based on local conditions, factoring in the students safety, the roads in the district, and if the busses can run safely. They do not rely on a specific temperature or wind chill mark.

In Holland, they have benchmarks. Indoor recess will be held if the air temp is 10 and/or the windchill is -10. Other reasons, including high winds, blowing snow, visibility, road and sidewalk conditions and a windchill of -25 are factored in to determine whether schools should open on a certain day.

The arctic air also puts stress on vehicles. It's a good idea to have these items in your vehicle all the time:

• a snow shovel/ice scraper
• ice melter/sand/cat litter
• de-icer
• blanket
• tow strap

The battery is the most affected vehicle item. "Batteries are probably the biggest thing," said Tom Spanstra of Spanstra Brother Automotive. "The colder it is the less power they have."