Jim_Pintar/iStock(MILWAUKEE) — Seven people stranded in an ice shack — or ice shanty — were rescued without any apparent injuries or medical problems amid brutally cold, sub-zero temperatures in Wisconsin on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Temperatures in the area were reported to be minus 4 degrees with a wind chill — the temperature it really feels like if you take wind in account — of minus 30 degrees, according to the Coast Guard.
The seven people had been “staged in an ice shanty” near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, but couldn’t get back to shore because of the weather and problems with their vehicle, Coast Guard officials said in a Wednesday news release.
Coast Guard officials said they are urging people to avoid going out onto ice in these conditions, as it can lead to hypothermia, frostbite and death.
Even the symptoms that precede hypothermia can impact motor skills and brain function — to the point where it may be too difficult to call for help, Coast Guard officials said.
This rescue comes as extremely dangerous below-zero wind chills paralyze much of the Midwest.
Chicago is forecast to drop to a thermometer temperature of minus 26 degrees Wednesday night — just one degree away from the city’s all-time coldest temperature, set in 1994.
Exacerbating this painful cold snap is its length. Much of the Midwest won’t see temperatures above zero for well over 24 hours.
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.