Communities across Massachusetts are doing what they can to keep people safe during what is expected to be one of the coldest weeks of the entire year.
In Boston, all Boston Centers for Youth and Families will be open as warming centers during the extreme cold.
City officials are urging anyone without warm housing or shelter to seek it out at one of these centers because these temperatures are dangerous.
The forecast for Boston includes wind chills that will reach below zero Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The lowest sub-zero temperatures are expected between midnight and 6 a.m.
These low temperatures combined with strong wind gusts, means there’s an increased risk of hypothermia and frostbite, especially for those older adults, and young children, as well as people experiencing homelessness.
Uncontrollable shivering or slurred speech could be signs of hypothermia, along with memory loss, disorientation or incoherence, and drowsiness or exhaustion.
As far as frostbite goes, you want to watch out for a loss of feeling, and a white or pale appearance in your fingers, toes, ear lobes, or tip of your nose.
If you have any of these symptoms, your urged to get medical help immediately.
This type of very cold weather may also exacerbate health issues in high-risk individuals.
Beyond that, there are concerns for frozen pipes.
Roto Router says with weather like this their emergency calls for frozen or burst pipes will typically rise 20-30-percent.
“Definitely if you’re not staying in the house, keep the heat over 60 degrees,” GM of Roto Router Boston South Joe Delicio said. “If you have areas that you know are drafty, leave the doors open in areas like the cabinets in kitchen cabinets and your vanities – to let heat in – yes to let the heat get in to where the pipes are. Also, if you have a pipe that’s frozen before, open the faucets and let it drip; the flow of water makes it harder for the pipes to freeze up.”
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