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Ramsey County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2018 Page | 83 In Ramsey County, cold winter weather can have severe or fatal impacts. Hypothermia occurs when the core body temperature drops below 96° F. Anyone who is exposed to severe cold without enough protection can develop hypothermia. Frostbite occurs when skin tissue and blood vessels are damaged from exposure to temperatures below 32° F. It most commonly affects the toes, fingers, earlobes, chin, cheeks, nose, and other body parts that are often left uncovered in cold temperatures. The NWS issues “Extreme cold” warnings when it feels like -30° F or colder across a wide area for several hours. Extreme cold watches are issued a day or two before the conditions are expected. Medical costs related to extreme heat and cold can be enormous: in 2005 the total was $1.5 billion nationwide, or more than $16,000 per patient (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2009). Below zero temperatures occur almost every winter in Minnesota. January is the coldest month, with daytime highs averaging 20° F and nighttime lows averaging 2° F. However, these averages do not tell the whole story. Maximum temperatures in January have been as high as 61° F and minimums as low as 36° F below zero. Extreme cold temperatures affect the county nearly every year. Extremely cold air settled over Minnesota on January 31st of 1996, and remained entrenched through February 4th. A new record low temperature for Minnesota was set in the town of Tower on February 2, 1996, at -60° F. Numerous record low temperatures were set during the period at St. Cloud, Rochester and the Twin Cities. Minneapolis/St. Paul set 3 new record low temperatures as well as recording the 2nd coldest day on record on February 2, 1996. A mean temperature of -25° F was measured that day with a high of -17° F and a low of -32° F in the Twin Cities. This was within 2 degrees of tying the all-time record low temperature set in the Twin Cities and the coldest temperature recorded this century. Many central and southern Minnesota locations set new record low temperatures the morning of the 2nd. The Governor closed all schools that day. In February of 2014, nearly all of Minnesota was between 10-15° F colder than normal (1981-2010 period) (High Plains Regional Climate Center, 2014). The winter of 2013-2014 was the sixth coldest on record in Minnesota (The Weather Channel, 2014), with schools in the Twin Cities canceling 5 times in January due to dangerous wind chills. It was the coldest winter in the Twin Cities in 35 years, with an average temperature for December-February of 9.7° F (MN DNR, 2014). Many areas in the state also experienced higher than average precipitation through the winter and spring months. Extreme Cold History in Ramsey County January is the coldest month on average in St. Paul, with an average low of 6° F. The lowest temperature ever recorded in the city occurred in February of 1996, when it fell to -32° F. December and January are the snowiest months, with December averaging 11 inches and January averaging 12 inches of snow (Intellicast, 2018). According to the NCEI, in January of 2018, wind chills near -35° F occurred, resulting in 1 death. A man was found in St. Paul who had died from exposure. In December of 2016, a woman froze to death in St. Paul, outside of her apartment building when the wind chill dropped to -19° F.