How to beat the extreme cold

One word describes our weather: frigid. And the extreme cold is expected to continue over the next few days in eastern Idaho and western Wyoming. So how do you prepare for below zero temperatures?

The cold weather affects your car, your pets and how you dress.

At Majestic Auto Body in Ammon, General Manager Chad Eldridge has seen all types of car problems related to frigid temperatures.

He said he has seen “people who have not had their antifreeze checked, water in their fuel, batteries that are bad.”

Tire deflation presents also another winter hazard.

“(Tires) don’t steer or handle correctly when they become really low pressured,” said Eldridge.

Majestic offers a free battery check and car inspection with any service.

You body needs careful attention in the cold, too.

Dr. Greg West, the director of wound care and hyperbolics at Mountain View Hospital in Idaho Falls, has seen the worst of severe frostbite.

“Every year we see people here in wound care who require amputations of the tips of their toes from cold exposure,” said West.

Hypothermia can also be a problem when temperatures drop below zero.

“You start shivering anytime you’re below 98. Anytime you start shivering, especially uncontrolled shivering, that’s a warning,” said West. “You need to make some sort of a change of what you’re doing or your surroundings.”

And if you think you’re cold, remember your pets.

“If you do have an animal that you are going to leave out, it needs to have a good supply with water. Make sure you change it all the time,” said Irene Brown, Idaho Falls Animal Services manager. “It needs to have a place out of the wind so they’re not laying on the cold snow.”

To view today’s forecast, see www.localnews8.com/weather or the “First Alert” section of our app.