How to stay warm when temperatures plummet in CSRA

AUGUSTA, Ga. - With some of the coldest temperatures Augusta has seen in a year, there’s a higher risk of cold-related weather injuries.

Staying warm in low temperatures is important and so is being cautious of how you stay warm.

Dr. Jedidiah Ballard, associate professor of emergency medicine, says there are some ways to avoid weather-related injuries from happening.

“Number one is carbon monoxide poisoning. It’s actually the No. 1 one cause of tox death worldwide. The problem with it is it’s an odorless, colorless gas. So it’s really hard to detect. If you don’t have an actual detector, and anything like bringing in kind of a makeshift heater in your home, anything like that can definitely omit those fumes,” said Ballard.

Stay up to date on winter weather by ing the WRDW Weather App on Google Play or the Apple App Store.

It would feel like you have the flu and it’s best to remove yourself from the situation and get help. Avoid using any gas-powered heating devices inside to heat your home.

However, when temperatures drop, there are more symptoms you should be aware of.

“Hypothermia is something we see fairly regularly and that can get really dangerous. What you’re looking for in that is in your initial stages. That’s where you’re getting that real convulsive, shivering and whatnot, you know, once you kind of get in there, you need to figure out a way to get inside and get warmer fairly fast, you know, eventually that shivering reflex is gonna give out,” said Ballard.

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It can become worse if you aren’t careful and with this week’s weather, it’s good to be prepared.

Across the CSRA, there are multiple warming centers to help people avoid the cold.

“The only thing I would be worried about is making sure the homeless people can get warm and get out that cold. It’s real cold out there,” said Tyquez Recreation, associate at May Park.

“If you’re out in the cold and you have nowhere to go out or just take advantage of the services that the city provides,” he said.

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