Winter: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

NiNteR THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY. The winter season brings us fun in the snow, blizzards and sometimes hypothermia. There are parts of winter that we love, others that we hate, and others that make us fear for our lives! Here are the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to winter. * THE GOOD * * SLEDDING * fun fact 3 Olympic sports have evolved from the basic form of sledding: 1. Bobsled 2. Luge 3. Skeleton * ICE SKATING * fun faet The first ice skates were flattened horse bones strapped to the bottom of the foot. * SNOWBALL FIGHT * fun fact The largest Snowball Fight on Record had 5,768 participants Location: Leuven, Belgium * SNOW SCULPTING * fun fact Date: October 14th, 2009 The largest snow sculpture ever created, "Romantic Feelings", was created by 600 sculptors from 40 countries who used 120,000ft of snow and ice. It was 115ft high and 656ft long. * THE BAD * WIND CHILL INDEX BLACK ICE FREEZING RAIN *** *** Black Ice is ice that forms on the The "perceived" temperature to the human body is based on both air When rain falls onto a surface that has roads and is so thin and transparent a temperature of below freezing it will temperature and wind velocity. With a temperature of 15°F and winds blowing that the black pavement is visible and freeze to that surface and form a coating looks safe. of ice. at 35 mph, the wind chill index would be -7°F BLIZZARD SLEET SNOW FLURRIES Winds over 35 mph with and blowing Rain that freeze into ice pellets before A snow flurry consists of light snow reaching the ground are called sleet. Sleet usually bounces when hitting a snow reduces visibility to near zero. falling for a short time. It lightly dusts surfaces and does not accumulate. surface without sticking to objects. Sometimes, though, it can accumulate like snow and cause hazards. SNOW SHOWERS SNOW SQUALLS BLOWING SNOW *** During a snow shower, snow falls at Snow squalls are brief, intense snow Wind-driven snow that reduces visibility and causes significant drifting is called varying intensities for brief periods of showers accompanied by strong gusts of wind. Accumulation may be significant. Blowing Snow. It may be formed by falling snow or loose snow on the ground time and accumulation is possible. picked up by wind. * THE UGLY * * FROST BITE * HYPOTHERMIA * Frostbite is a type of cold injury that causes Hypothermia occurs when the body heat is lost faster than it can be produced. It occurs when the normal body temperature drops localized damage to skin and other tissues. Fluid in the cells of the skin and other tissues freeze which reduces that supply of below 95°F. As the body temperature declines essential oxygen to tissues. the nervous system, heart and other organs struggle to function properly. *** IN THE U.S. EACH YEAR, NEARLY 10.00 IN THE U.S. AS A RESULT OF HYPOTHERMIA, MORE THAN 700 people SUFFER FROM FROSTBITE DEATHS OCCUR ANNUALLY * AVALANCHE * Avalanches are large masses of snow, ice, earth, rock, or other material that move swiftly down mountainsides or over precipices. *** OVER THE LAST 10 WINTERS IN THE U.S. AN AVERAGE OF 25 PEOPLE HAVE DIED IN AN AVALANCHE * SKI & SNOWBOARD * ON AVERAGE 41 PEOPLE HAVE DIED PER YEAR RIDING THE SLOPES * SNOW SHOVELING * *** SINCE 2000 WHILE SHOVELING SNOW AFTER A LARGE SNOW STORM HIT THE DETROIT AREA, 36 PEOPLE WERE STRUCK *** WITH SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST * BE PREPARED PLAN AND UPDATE YOUR HOME AND CAR EMERGENCY KITS TO ENSURE A SAFE WINTER SEASON. HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM EASTERN MOUNTAIN SPORTS * SOURCES * absoluteastronomy.com | topendsports.com | dailymail.co.uk | livescience.com | en.wikipedia.org | weather.com ok.gov | erh.noaa.gov | medicalnewstoday.com | essortment.com | wildernesscollege.com | umm.edu | nsaa.org avalanche.state.co.us | nsaa.org | abcnews.go.com ***** ***** **.