This is the time of year when the temps are at their lowest. Some people look forward to this time of year to enjoy outdoor activities like skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, and sledding. Others prefer to live under a stack of blankets and only go outside when absolutely necessary. Whichever side of the fence you live on, knowing how to avoid frostbite is just good information to have in your back pocket. After all, when the temps get below freezing and there is some good wind behind it, you can start with get frostbite in less than 10 minutes.

In this post, we are going to examine a few different strategies you can use to keep frostbite at bay this winter.

Stay Warm
This might seem like an obvious recommendation, but the temptation to not dress properly for conditions can be easy to cave in to. Taking the dog out. Taking the garbage out. Shoveling the front porch. All of these things are common excuses for not putting on a coat to go outside in the cold... for just a minute.

When the weather is "frostbite" cold, make sure you are dressed properly. Flannel is always a good option this time of year. Windbreaking outerwear is another. Layers are also key to help keep skin protected from the cold, while not having to wear bulky clothing.

Stay Dry
If your skin is wet, it instantly becomes more prone to frostbite. This is a too-often occurrence among people who like to be active in the outdoors during winter. It's easy to think that staying active in colder weather creates enough heat to stave off frostbite. Unfortunately, constant activity can also lead to sweating, which can increase your likelihood to getting frostbite. One of the most common articles of clothing for winter-time wetness is gloves and mittens. These are also directly exposed to the cold whereas, say long johns, are not.

The best course of action with wet clothing is to remove it as soon as possible. Then make sure you dry the skin that the wet clothing was touching. If you plan to go back out, make sure you are completely dry before starting again.

Hydration and Moisturizers
Winter is a notoriously dry season. The air itself is dryer. Forced heat in homes also dries the air out. This can lead to dry, irritated, flaky skin. Drinking lots of water helps to keep your skin hydrated and stave off irritation. While drinking water helps your skin from the inside out, regular application of lotion and other moisturizers can help the problem from the outside in.

There are varying degrees of moisturizers on the market and some cater specifically to dry, cracked skin. Others are for daily use and can help to prevent skin from becoming dry and cracked in the first place. It's not a bad idea to keep both on hand during the winter months.

Remember, it can be a habit to just apply moisturizer to your hands. Other areas of your body are regularly exposed to the cold, as well. Application to the face and ears can also be very beneficial.

Uncomfortably Numb
If you are outside for a little while in freezing temps and you start to feel numbness, usually in the fingers and toes first, this is a sign that you need to warm up as soon as possible. Don't ignore it or "tough it out."

When you get back into warm environs, those numb areas can experience a tingling sensation. Sometimes, it can even be painful. This is actually a good sign, though, as that signifies blood returning to the numbed parts. In some case, you may even need to submerge the numb body parts in warm water to help the natural process along.

In Conclusion
Avoiding frostbite always comes back to taking care of your skin and listening to your body. Keep your skin warm, dry, hydrated, and moisturized. And when your body sends message of numbness, heed the warning and get to a warmer environment right away.

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It seems like every year that winter weather brings us more snowfall than average, there is talk of an El Nino. But what exactly is an El Nino? And what about the lesser-known La Nina? What should we know about that? In this post, we are going to look at the weather patterns known as El Nino and La Nina to see the impact they can have on winter conditions in the U.S.

The ENSO Cycle
The governing weather pattern in which El Nino and La Nina play opposing roles is the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. The ENSO cycle is the metrological term for the regular fluctuations that occur between the atmosphere and the ocean along the central Equatorial Pacific, which is located between 120 degrees West and the International Date Line.

El Nino is referred to as the warm phase of the ENSO cycle, while La Nina is known as the cold phase of the cycle. The changes from normal surface temperatures in the region have significant effects on the ocean processes, which you would expect. They can also have a tremendous influence on global climate and weather patterns, which is why we are sometimes talking about them in the dead of a Michigan winter.

The ENSO cycle is somewhat predictable in that the alternating episodes usually last about nine to 12 months. On occasion, though, some phases can actually last for years! The frequency of these occurrences can be notoriously irregular, with an ENSO cycle happening every two-to-seven years on average. (How's that for a range?) In general, El Nino happens more often than La Nina.

Breaking Down El Nino
The literal translation of El Nino is "The Little Boy" or even "The Christ Child." Seems innocent enough. The name was chosen by fisherman in the 1600s who first noticed there was unusually warm water off the Pacific coast of South America around December.

Today, the term El Nino is the label for large-scale climate interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere that are defined by episodic warming of sea surface temps along the Central and East-Central Pacific.

The usual effects of El Nino typically start to develop over North America right before winter. These effects include drier-than-average conditions in the Pacific Northwest, Ohio Valley, and the Lower Great Lakes Region. By contrast Florida and the U.S. Gulf Coast region will usually see wetter-than-average conditions. Finally, it leads to warmer-than-average conditions across the western and northern U.S., as well as western and central Canada.

Breaking Down La Nina
La Nina means, as you might expect, "The Little Girl" in Spanish. It behaves in the opposite way El Nino behaves, characterized by lower-than-average sea surface temps along the East-Central Equatoral Pacific. It should come as no surprise, then, that the global climate effects of La Nina tend to be the exact opposite of El Nino. During a La Nina season, winter temps are cooler-than-normal in the Northwest, while the Southwest sees warmer-than-normal temps.

In Conclusion
Combined with the often-unpredictable nature the Great Lakes play in winter weather patterns, it should be no surprise that weather conditions starting halfway around the world can set off storms in the Great Lakes area. Understanding just how El Nino and La Nina behave, though, can sometimes help forecast longer-term winter weather patterns.

Of course, if you are looking for commercial snow removal services, we'd sure appreciate it if you would give E.P.M. LawnScape and Supply an opportunity. Simply contact us online or call us at (517) 990-0110 today!

We're both blessed and cursed to live in a part of the world where a pop-up storm can just drop 6+ inches of snow. Depending upon where, exactly, you live, not cleaning up that snow could cost you.

In this post, we are going to talk about the possible legal and financial ramifications of not clearing your sidewalks and walkways after a snowfall.

We're Talking Lawsuits
As a property owner, you have a legal obligation to keep your property free and clear of ice and snow. If you fail to do so and someone slips and falls on your property because of your failure to remove a snow and/or ice hazard, the person who fell could file a lawsuit against you. In some states, failure to remove a snow and/or ice hazard is also a violation of the law.

It's not just private walkways you need to keep clear, like walkways up to your front door. Public areas, such as sidewalks, are also your responsibility. In fact, if a poorly-placed downspout is causing water to run onto a sidewalk, where it then freezes, this is also your legal responsibility.

We're Talking Fines
In places like New York City and Bridgeport, Connecticut, local laws require landowners to keep public sidewalks clear of ice and snow in an effort to prevent slip-and-fall injuries. In NYC, for instance, even if there is no accident involved, failure to clear your sidewalk could result in a $150 fine and/or 10 days in jail!

Communities that have laws requiring you to clean up snow and ice also have a time requirement that states how long you have to perform the cleanup. In some instances, the language is a little flexible, stating "a reasonable amount of time." In other places, Boston, for example, you have three hours from the time the snow stops falling to shovel it.

While it's good practice to know what your local requirements are, it's still a good rule of thumb to not wait more than a few hours from the end of a snowfall to shovel your sidewalks and walkways. This is a good way to avoid both legal and financial risks. While states like Ohio don't legally require you to clear the snow ever, you could still be subject to lawsuits in the event of an accident that stems from failure to clear the snow.

The Insurance Option
No matter how good of a shoveler you may be, it's entirely possible that you will miss a spot on occasion. For this reason, it's not a terrible idea to have liability insurance to cover possible court costs and judgements against you, should a slip-and-fall suit occur. In general, liability limits start at around $100k. The Insurance Information Institute recommends at least $300k worth of liability protection.

In Conclusion
While nobody likes shoveling snow, nobody likes slipping and falling on icy, snowy sidewalks and walkways either. While some communities have laws regarding shoveling sidewalks, the possibility of a lawsuit for accidents resulting from failure to clean up exists no matter where you live. In the end, it's best to get your walks cleaned up as soon as you can following a storm.

Of course, if you are looking for commercial snow removal services, we'd sure appreciate it if you would give E.P.M. LawnScape and Supply an opportunity. Simply contact us online or call us at (517) 990-0110 today!