GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Health officials say so far the community has done well to avoid harm in this extreme weather, but we’re not in the clear just yet.
With a heavy band of snow working its way through the area on Monday and record low temperatures the past few days, it wasn’t going to be all smooth sailing.
“There were quite a few accidents over the week and we saw several people who had fallen on ice, car crashes,” explains Dr. Brad Burmeister, Emergency Department Physician with Bellin Health.
For health officials, the encouraging element is that not many of those individuals sustained injuries serious enough to warrant a visit to the emergency room.
“We haven’t really seen a striking increase in the number of weather-related complaints over the last several days, above and beyond what you would normally see if it snows with people slipping on ice,” he says.
Dr. Burmeister says he’s heard of people getting bruised from falling on ice and some cases of frostnip, but those aren’t serious enough cases to warrant a trip to his department.
“Typically those people they might be seeking more care in the urgent cares that were open the last few days,” he explains.
With record-low temperatures settling in it’s been a concern that any amount of exposure to the elements could present health concerns, but officials attribute general caution and the availability of warming sites to the lack of frostbite cases that they’ve seen thus far.
“There have been a few people who have had some cold exposure and been seen by some other physicians and providers within our group,” says Dr. Burmeister.
But he believes the fact that he hasn’t had to treat anyone with frostbite is an indication that most people are staying indoors and not taking any unnecessary risks in this weather.
“I think that people did relatively well [to] heed the warning of trying to stay indoors and stay warm,” he says.
The extreme cold is forecasted to let up in the next few days and a relative heat wave could come through this weekend.
For Dr. Burmeister, he hopes people stay on alert as they transition back into their normal routine of school or work.
“We give a lot of caution and warning that the roads are still snow covered,” he explains. “And with those warmer temperatures, we might see some of that snow melt on sidewalks or roads and then if it freezes at night again it could be very, very slippery.”
