Despite the best planning and frequent weather checks, the erratic weather of winter may still catch you in a snowstorm and leave you stranded in a vehicle on the road. If that happens, your efforts need to be focused on staying warm and awake.
For the sake of your health and life in such situations, the Medical Society of the State of New York recommends following this specific advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Tie a brightly colored cloth to the antenna as a signal that you need help.
Move things that you will need most, such as extra clothing, into the passenger area from the trunk of a sedan or other hard-to-reach, colder areas.
Wrap your entire body, including your head, in extra clothing, blankets or newspapers.
Stay awake. You will be less vulnerable to cold-related health problems.
Run the motor (and heater) for approximately 10 every hour, opening one window slightly to let in fresh oxygen. Make sure that snow is not blocking the exhaust pipe to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
As you sit, keep moving your arms and legs to improve your circulation and stay warmer.
Do not eat unmelted snow because it will lower your body temperature.
Watch for signs of hypothermia
When exposed to cold temperatures, the body begins to lose heat faster than it can be produced. The result is hypothermia, abnormally low body temperature. Body temperature that is too low affects the brain, making a person unable to think clearly or move well. This condition makes hypothermia particularly dangerous because a person may not know it is happening and will not be able to do anything about it.
Hypothermia occurs most commonly at very cold environmental temperatures but can occur even at cool temperatures (above 40°F) if you become chilled from going out in the rain or snow, or from sweat.
Warning signs of hypothermia in adults include shivering/exhaustion, confusion/fumbling hands, memory loss/slurred speech and drowsiness. Infants with hypothermia may have bright red, cold skin and very low energy.
Infants and older people are most at risk for hypothermia. Infants lose body heat more easily than adults and cannot make enough body heat by shivering. If you will be traveling with an infant, be sure to pack plenty of warm clothing and blankets. Older adults often also make less body heat because they generally have a slower metabolism and are less physically active.
Warming up, even in constrained circumstances
The usual advice for when signs of hypothermia are suspected is to take the person’s temperature, and if it is below 95° F, get immediate medical attention or move to a warm room or shelter. Although moving to a warm place is not possible when stranded, other CDC recommendations can be followed. This list is also a reminder of handy items to keep in your vehicle in case you do get stranded, blankets and hot beverages, for example.
If wearing any wet clothing, remove it.
Warm the center of the body first—chest, neck, head and groin. When lacking an electric blanket, use skin-to-skin contact under loose, dry layers of clothing or regular blankets if you have any.
If you have warm beverages along, sip them to increase body temperature. Do not, however, try to give beverages to an unconscious person, and do not break out the liquor or wine you had planned to savor upon arrival. Alcoholic beverages make the body lose heat more rapidly.
If you can warm up, try to stay warm and dry by keeping your body, including head and neck, wrapped in a blanket or clothing.
Once you can resume traveling, seek medical attention as soon as possible.