As residents across Freeborn County are digging out from the weekend’s blizzard, cold weather will continue to plague the area for the next few days.

The county remains in a hazardous weather outlook, issued by the National Weather Service, until Sunday. The watch also expands across north Iowa, including Worth and Winnebago counties.

Brisk, northwest winds combined with bitterly cold temperatures are expected to bring wind chills down to below-zero ranges, from 15 below zero to 30 below zero, especially in the evening hours, for the remainder of the week.

The highest temperature predicted for the week is 21 degrees on Wednesday.

With temperatures this cold, hypothermia and frostbite are a danger to anyone who is outside for even short amounts of time.

“If it’s really cold, you can develop early signs of frostbite in minutes,” said Lois Ahern, a nurse with Freeborn County Public Health.

Frostbite is when the tissues actually freeze after exposure to extremely cold temperatures. Ahern said it happens mostly in fingers, ears, cheeks, toes and the tip of the nose. Signs of frostbite are numbness and tingling along with aching. She advised getting someplace warm, but warming frostbitten parts very slowly and carefully.

“Try not to rub or massage your fingers, but put them under your arms,” she said.

She advised against using hot water, but lukewarm water instead.

The first signs of hypothermia, which is when the body is losing heat faster than producing it, is uncontrollable shivering and fatigue, and one becomes less coordinated.

Ahern said probably the biggest thing is to wear appropriate clothing when going outdoors. Hats, mittens, warm socks and boots, along with layering up are key.

“Try not to wear the layers really tight,” she said. “If you wear several layers of loose fitting clothing, that provides insulation because air traps between the layers.”

She advised those who work outdoors to wear waterproof boots, facemasks and insulated wool socks or even a couple of layers of socks. Keeping extra socks, gloves, mittens and hats is also a good idea.

For those who work outside, Ahern advised being aware of these things not only for yourself, but for those working around you. She advised taking plenty of rest breaks where it’s warm and keeping hydrated by drinking warm liquids.

Snow totals

The blizzard Saturday dumped about 7 1/2 inches of snow over Albert Lea. Thanks to high winds, drifting of 2 feet and higher were reported around town.

To the west, Mankato reported receiving 8 inches of snow.

The Twin Cities area set a new two-day record for snowfall Dec. 10 to 11, receiving 17.5 inches, which broke the previous record of 16.5 inches of snow in a two-day period set Dec. 28, 1982.

The highest snowfall reported in the Chanhassen bureau of the National Weather Service was 21.5 inches in New Market.

Weather observations posted by the National Weather Service reported the total depth of snow on the ground in Austin at 10 inches, in Wells at 8 inches, in Lake Mills, Iowa, at 10 inches and in Northwood, Iowa, at 7 inches.

One area four miles southeast of Albert Lea reported 13 inches of snow on the ground Monday.

The National Weather Service predicts a 20 percent chance of snow Tuesday and a 70 percent chance of snow again Wednesday.