5 Best Survival Tips for Extreme Cold Weather Conditions

By Shannon Cutts , last updated December 22, 2011

If you are ever caught in extreme cold weather conditions, then knowing the five best survival tips for cold weather situations will come in very handy. While it may be hard to anticipate ever needing to know extreme cold weather survival skills, you never know what life may bring and taking some extra time now to be prepared for the future may be the best choice you have ever made. Learn these five best survival tips for extreme cold weather conditions and be on your way to being prepared for anything that comes your way in the future.

Keep Yourself and Your Clothing Dry

The number one extreme cold weather survival tip is to make sure to keep yourself and your clothing as dry as possible. With damp and wet conditions, your chances of getting frostbite and of having your body temperature drop to dangerously low levels increases correspondingly. If you find that your clothing has gotten damp or wet, you will need to find a way to dry it as quickly as you can for your own safety. One of the easiest ways to stay dry is to find an outer layer to wrap around you to keep you insulated from wet or damp conditions.

Cover Your Head, Hands, and Feet

You can lose up to 90 percent of all your body heat through your head. Just putting on a hat will keep you in a much safer place while you try to ride out the cold weather conditions when it comes to maintaining your body heat. Additionally, keeping your extremities covered will protect vulnerable fingers and toes against frostbite.

Dress in Layers

Whether for purposes of retaining body heat, avoiding frostbite, or preventing wet or damp conditions, dressing in layers is one of the five all-time best survival tips for cold weather conditions. When you dress in layers, you insulate your body against the cold, protect inner layers against dampness, and are that much closer to retaining the body heat you need to survive.

Avoid Overly Warm Situations and Tight Clothing

If you find a place to shelter that is overly warm, you may feel like you have found your safe haven against the extreme cold, but you must be very cautious that the warm environment does not cause you to sweat, which can promote dampness that can quickly get dangerous if you are once again exposed to the extreme cold. Here, dressing in looser layers can be very helpful to assist with creating adequate air circulation near your skin and helping you regulate your body temperature in changeable situations. Tight clothing can also be dangerous, as it can prevent necessary air circulation and actually keep your body cooler than you need.

Keep Moving and Visible

Finally, if you are in a situation of extreme cold weather conditions, try to keep moving as much as possible. As you move, your body temperature will rise and you will foster better circulation and ventilation. You also have more of a chance of finding some assistance if you are moving and visible than if you are laying low.

Source:eHow

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