Western Pennsylvania is bracing for a bitter blast, with the windchill expected to make temperatures feel below zero. 

Lows overnight will dip to the single digits, and wind chills will be 10 to 15 degrees below zero. Dozens of schools are issuing closures and delays to keep students safe.   

Cold weather poses health dangers

Weather like what the Pittsburgh area is about to see can quickly become a danger for anyone outside. According to Dr. Brent Rau, Allegheny General Hospital's director of emergency medicine, children and the elderly are at the most risk.

"It can take only a few minutes to really start to have some skin changes, some numbness or other concerns," Rau said.

After 30-40 minutes, exposed skin can be in danger of frostbite. Don't go outside unless you must. 

School districts keep eyes on weather

Superintendents like Karns City Area School District's Dr. Eric Ritzert said wind chills and low temperatures are something they must be mindful of when calling for closures or delays. Most of their students have to wait to catch the bus, and the district has to make sure the buses are able to run in the cold.

"Absolute temperature, it starts getting below zero, it's hard on the equipment. The diesel fuel can start to gel up and that can make the running of the buses problematic," Ritzert said.

Because of the chaos of mornings, Ritzert said with this type of weather, he hopes to make the decision in the afternoon or evening so families can be prepared.

"That way, it gives the families as much notice as possible. The feedback I do get, they appreciate, when possible, more notice than waiting until the last moment," Ritzert said.

Tips for staying safe 

If you must be out, make sure to leave no skin exposed. If you are able, try to keep children in as long as possible before going out to catch the bus. Some cold injuries can lead to permanent issues. When coming back in from the cold, be careful with water; don't run it too hot.

"If you're cold and numb, use warm water. Don't use hot water. You don't realize until it's too late that the water was way too hot and sometimes patients come in with burns because they didn't realize how cold they were," Dr. Rau said.

In addition to all the cold air concerns, be alert to ice. With this weather, sidewalks can become a hazard as salt may not melt the snow. 

Duquesne Light tells homeowners to be prepared

Duquesne Light posted to social media about the "dangerously cold" temperatures, telling homeowners to be prepared. 

"We don't expect outages because of this weather the way we would during maybe high winds or ice storms, something like that," said Duquesne Light communications director Matt Neistein. "But we do want people to be prepared for outages for other reasons that may occur during a cold snap like this. So we're not expecting anything crazy, we're just really about everybody being prepared during extreme weather like this."

Duquesne Light recommends charging all your important electronic devices in advance. Prepare an emergency kit with things like non-perishable food, water, first-aid supplies and flashlights, storing it in a convenient location. If you do lose power, know ahead of time where you'll go. And report any outages so Duquesne Light can come out and fix them. 

How to keep your heat working

At Craft Heating and Cooling, they know the calls will flood in during temperature drops. They also know there are some suprisingly simple things you can do to make sure this doesn't happen to you. 

"As always, we recommend yearly maintenance on a home heating system to make sure everything is operating the way it should," said Craft Heating and Cooling manager Jim Kerns. "Another thing you can do is regularly check your furnace filter to make sure that it's clean so the system doesn't have to work quite as hard. As the filters get dirty, the furnace has to work a lot harder to maintain the temperature."

The cost to get a check-up for your heating system runs about $100. When companies talk about getting your heating system checked, it's not just a sales pitch. It's also good advice, because at the end of the day, $100 can be a lot of money for some, but a drop in the bucket compared to replacing your entire heating system, or worse, having it go out when there are single-digit temperatures outside.