High wind gusts mixed with dangerous wind chills are creating hazardous conditions outside in the Chicago area as millions of residents prepare for the Christmas holiday.
Wind chill values have been hovering between 35 and 40 degrees below zero for much of the day Friday, presenting a serious risk for those who are outdoors.
Experts have been stressing that while snow totals have not risen to extraordinary heights, the gusty winds and brutally cold wind chills make travel difficult and any time outdoors increasingly dangerous.
"If it’s very below zero when you go outside, it can be a matter of minutes before you get frostbite on your hands," Dr. Trevor Lewis of Cook County Health said.
Lewis added that the body's natural mechanism to warm up is to shiver, a warning sign to those outdoors to get inside as quickly as possible and remove any wet clothing.
According to the National Weather Service, wind chill values near 25 degrees below zero can cause possible frostbite in just 15 minutes.
In the conditions for the Chicago area on Friday, frostbite could develop on exposed skin in 10 minutes.
As far as the best way to combat the cold if you must be outdoors, a 2004 study from three universities found that a fur-lined hood is the most effective, by blocking the most wind and maintaining body temperature the best.
The study noted the fur-lined hood has been known by Inuit hunters and seamstresses for thousands of years, calling it a "time-tested design."
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