Warming Centers Open, Officials Offer Tips on Staying Warm

Warwick, RI – As temperatures promised to stay well below freezing for the second day of a cold snap in Rhode Island and southern New England, warming centers opened in Warwick and several other RI communities, and officials offered tips on staying warm and safe.

Overnight, weather.com reported temperatures in Warwick dipped as low at -3 degrees fahrenheit. Today, temperatures are expected to remain well below freezing at 16 degrees, with winds blowing as high as 20 mph, according to weather.com. The National Weather Service maintained a wind chill advisory for the area for a second day.

On Thursday, an arctic cold front moved through the Warwick area, plunging temperatures into the single digits and creating wind chills below zero, the National Weather Service announced.

Several RI commnunities, including Warwick, opened warming centers to aid the public in sheltering from the cold.

In Warwick, city officials designated Pilgrim Senior Center and Warwick Public Library as warming centers, as several RI communities set up warming centers for public use due to the extreme cold.

Pilgrim Senior Center

27 Pilgrim Parkway, (Mon – Fri: 8:30 a.m. – 4: 30 p.m.)

Warwick Public Library

600 Sandy Lane ( Mon – Thurs: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Fri – Sat: 9 a.m.– 5 p.m.; Sun: 1– 5 p.m.

Overnight, several communities also canceled school due to extreme cold. As of midnight Thursday, Warwick had not joined other communities in closing school.

The Red Cross has posted a number of personal and homeowner tips for dealing with extreme cold weather:

Avoid unnecessary exposure to the cold. Be aware of both the temperature and the wind chill when planning outdoor activities. When you prepare to go outside in severe cold weather, please remember the following:

• Most of your body heat is lost through your head so wear a hat, preferably one that covers your ears.
• Dressing in layers helps you retain heat. You can remove layers as needed if you become too warm.
• Mittens provide more warmth to your hands than gloves.
• Wear waterproof, insulated boots to help avoid hypothermia or frostbite by keeping your feet warm and dry and to maintain your footing in ice and snow.
• Get out of wet clothes immediately and warm the core body temperature with a blanket or warm fluids like hot cider or soup. Avoid drinking caffeine or alcohol if you expect you or someone you are trying to help has hypothermia or frostbite.
• Recognize the symptoms of hypothermiathat can be a serious medical condition: confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering. Seek medical attention immediately if you have these symptoms.
• Recognize frostbite warning signs: gray, white or yellow skin discoloration, numbness, waxy feeling skin. Seek medical attention immediately if you have these symptoms.