As temperatures plunge over the next couple of days, people in our area will be at risk of getting hypothermia when spending time outside.

As temperatures plunge over the next couple of days, people in our area will be at risk of getting hypothermia when spending time outside.

(TEXAS TRIBUNE) – At least 57 people died in Texas as a result of last month’s winter storm, according to preliminary data the state health department released Monday. The largest number of deaths — at least 25 — occurred in Harris County, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported. The deaths occurred in at least 25 counties between Feb. 11 and March 5, the state agency said. The majority of verified deaths were associated with hypothermia, but health officials said some were also caused by motor vehicle wrecks, “carbon monoxide poisoning, medical equipment failure, falls, and fire.”The preliminary data is “subject to change” as state disaster epidemiologists gather additional information and additional deaths are verified, the agency said. The information will be updated weekly, it said.

Gee, who was last seen by family the day before she died, was in a complex whose power had been shut off during this week’s storm. “It really doesn’t take very low temperatures to put us in a difficult situation,” said Dr. David Callender, the president and CEO of the Memorial Hermann system. They are people who need dialysis or oxygen but they don’t have power at home or at the facility they usually visit. This week, Memorial Hermann saw more than 100 patients alone. “Unfortunately it sneaks up on us and there really aren’t obvious symptoms until we may be near unconsciousness,” he said.

Frigid temperatures are sweeping across the country.