Your go-to winter gear may not stand up to the deep freeze

The historic 2019 deep freeze is upon us. Temperatures on Wednesday morning and afternoon could be the coldest they have ever been in South Bend. Other Midwest cities may tie or break the records as well.

Wind chill temperatures will be in the -20s, -30s and -40s, making a short trip outdoors dangerous. However, if you do have to go outside, it is imperative to wear layers and waterproof winter gear. The liner gloves or thin, knit gloves will not do. Meteorologist Erica Horvatin conducted an experiment on Tuesday, ahead of the historic cold, to see how long it takes wet gloves to freeze. 

During the experiment, temperatures were around ten degrees. That is nearly twenty degrees warmer than Wednesday's forecast high temperature, so keep that in mind. The wet glove hung outside in the cold and wind for five minutes and was already stiff frozen stiff. After a full ten minutes, the glove was ice, with an actual icicle hanging from the middle finger. Oh, the irony.

The bottom line is that your go-to winter apparel will not be enough on Wednesday, especially if your clothes, like gloves or even socks, end up wet. This could happen from having to scrape ice or snow off of the car, if you end up in an accident, etc.