Frostbite risk high in Missouri as temperature drops

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

When the wind chill is minus 15 degrees or lower, people can get frostbite in fewer than 30 minutes, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

A Cold Weather Advisory has been issued in Mid-Missouri for 6 p.m. Tuesday through noon Thursday at for wind chills as low as 20 below zero.

"The dangerously cold wind chills as low as 20 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes," the advisory says.

The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team has issued Weather Alert Days this week due to the potential of accumulating snow and dangerously cold temperatures following the snow for most of the week.

“With upcoming temperatures that are going to be subzero, we can start getting frostbite in just as little as a few minutes,” Dr. Michael Roach, of Boone Health, said.

Frostbite is an injury that occurs when skin and the tissues under it freezes, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“Frostbite is when you actually start having tissue damage so that that freezing cold is starting to attack the tissues in those areas," MU Health Care Dr. Christopher Sampson said.

The early stage of frostbite can feel like a pinch.

“It’s almost like a frost ‘nip,’ like somebody pinched your finger,” Roach said.

He said it is important to pay attention to the colors of your during the frigid cold. Discolored skin can tell the different stages of frostbite a person is experiencing.

"If it [skin] starts turning red color, that's the first signs," Roach said. "You're going to start by feeling pain, tenderness, tingling in the fingers."

Skin will again change color when advancing from frostnip to frostbite.

"It [skin] may start getting a little yellow gray tint to them," Roach said. "It will start feeling waxy, thick, almost numb to the touch."

As frostbite worsens, skin can even blister.

"It [skin] starts turning a yellow blue color," Roach said. "Grayish color is usually the second sign. It will usually blister and turn black."

Roach and Sampson said people with underlying vascular diseases can be at a higher risk for developing frostbite.

"People with vascular issues are at risk. Anyone who has issues with blood flow to their arms or legs, fingers and toes," Sampson said. "Diabetics also can have vascular issues just from the damage of diabetes, which can put them at risk."

Roach said diabetics should be mindful of prolonged exposure to the cold.

“Blood flow isn't getting to those extremities as as proficient as what a healthy person would be," Roach said. "Less oxygen, less blood flow, it [tissue] is going to get colder more quickly.”

Sampson said another at risk group is the unhoused population.

“Not having the ability sometimes to get into warmer areas," Sampson said. "It really puts them at risk for frostbite."

Sampson said MU Health Care sees a few cases of frostbite each year.

Roach said he has seen many dehydrated patients this winter.

"It is very dry and there's not a lot of humidity so they forget to drink as much water and stay hydrated," Roach said.

These medical professionals urged people to take proper precautions in this week's weather conditions.

"It's having gloves, having good socks, proper shoes, hats to cover the head and ear," Sampson said. "Those are really the things that are going to be the first line of defense against that [frostbite]. And it's also having that stuff available in your vehicle because you never know if you'll get in an accident. Sometimes you have to change a tire, anything that you might have to get out of your car for."

Several warming centers are available in Columbia, including:

Salvation Army Harbor House, 602 N. Ann St.; Daily: 6 a.m. – 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Activity & Recreation Center, 1701 W. Ash St.
Monday – Friday: 5:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. 
Open July 4 from 11 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

City Hall, 701 E. Broadway St.; Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, 1005 W. Worley St.; Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Salvation Army, 1108 West Ash Street; Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – noon, 1 – 4 p.m.