MTA Rescues Riders: 6 Freezing Death Traps to Avoid (Pictures)

(CBS) Brr's the word on the East Coast after the region was pummeled by a major winter storm.

Just ask passengers on four New York City subway trains that stalled in snowdrifts early this morning near Kennedy Airport. Four hundred passengers were stranded for seven hours on the unheated Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) trains before being rescued at about 8 a.m. today, NBC New York reported.

PICTURES: Winter Storm: Six Ways to Die

Seven hours on an unheated train sounds bad. But that ordeal pales in comparison to the other things that befall some people caught in a severe winter weather. Low temperatures and heavy snowfall can cause severe injuries and death. In fact, dozens of Americans die each year due to exposure to cold, according to a winter weather preparedness guide published by the federal government.