With an arctic blast blowing through the area, keeping the body warm is a must because hypothermia can set in quicker than one realizes.

Hypothermia is a medical emergency that needs to be taken seriously and if you work outdoors or have any reason to be outside, you especially need to pay attention.

Normal body temperature is around 98.6 degrees, but when your body's temperature registers 95 degrees or lower, hypothermia has begun.

Dr. Margaret Bailey says, "it's very important, especially a day like today, the strom that's coming through is going to be the biggest factor, and any exposed skin can become chilled. The temperature may be 30-degrees, but your body thinks it's 15 or 20 and you can lose body heat pretty rapidly."

If you have to be outdoors, be aware that when your body temperature drops, your heart, nervous system and other organs cannot work correctly, so here are some signs of hypothermia you should be watching. For starters, you body will begin to shiver and the skin becomes cold and can change color. When someone is talking, you may appear disinterested or show no concern. Also you may have poor judgment and walking may be difficult because you'll be experiencing balance issues.

In addition, there could be some communication issues and you could experience numbness in the fingers and toes.

Now if your work is outdoors, the best thing for you to do is to take precautions to avoid becoming hypothermic.

The more clothing you can wear the better, so layer it on. Stay dry at all costs, don't get wet. But if you do, change into dry clothes immediately. And if you can, don't be outdoors for an extended period of time. Most importantly, be sure to keep you fingers and toes warm.

Now if left untreated, hypothermia eventually leads to complete failure of your heart and respiratory system and to death so if you do develop symptoms, get medical attention quickly.