Trek Guide
Wind chill warnings are gone. What an extreme cold warning and a cold weather advisory mean now, how cold each gets by region, and what to do.
By Dawa Sherpa · Oct 4, 2026
An extreme cold warning means dangerously cold air temperatures or wind chills are expected or already here, cold enough to cause frostbite on exposed skin quickly and hypothermia if you are stuck outside. A cold weather advisory is the step below it…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The names changed and the wind requirement went, so the alerts now cover still, frigid air as well as wind chill. Service Change Notice 23-44, updated on 26 March 2024, set out the switch for on or about 1 October 2024: the wind chill advisory became the cold…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
There are three steps, and the Weather Service defines them by how certain and how severe the cold is. There is no cold "emergency" product above the warning. Local authorities may open warming centres or close schools on the back of a warning, and those…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Anywhere from below 15°F to -40°F, because each office sets its thresholds in tiers that get colder as you go north. NWS New Orleans issues a cold weather advisory south of Interstate 10 when temperatures or wind chills are expected below 25°F…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Wind chill is how cold exposed skin feels, and it is only defined at or below 50°F with winds above 3 mph. The Weather Service calculates it as 35.74 + 0.6215T − 35.75(V 0.16 ) + 0.4275T(V 0.16 ), where T is the air temperature in °F and V the…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Plan as if the car could strand you, and keep every inch of skin covered. The CDC lists the early signs of frostbite as redness or pain, then a white or greyish-yellow patch, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy, and numbness. Hypothermia shows up as…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Read the alert, not the thermometer. The name tells you the local danger: an extreme cold warning on the Gulf Coast at 14°F and one in northern Minnesota at -40°F both mean exposed skin and stranded drivers are at real risk where they are issued. Use…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
No. Since 1 October 2024 the National Weather Service issues an extreme cold warning instead, and the wind chill advisory is now a cold weather advisory. It depends on the office. It is below 15°F on the Gulf Coast south of I-10, -10°F or colder…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The snow and ice alerts, and when to cancel the drive. The Weather Service surf alert, decoded. Everything from jet lag to vaccines, in one place. How our guides layer for nights below freezing. Sources: National Weather Service Service Change Notice 23-44…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Plan your trek
NMA-certified guides · permits sorted · 5,000+ treks since 1998.
Free guide
Permits, costs, seasons and routes — the essentials we send every traveller, plus a free, no-obligation trip quote.
↑ Swipe up
Read the full report and grab the free Nepal Trek Insider Guide — or ask our Pokhara team for a tailored, no-obligation quote.
Read more & get the free guide Plan my trip — free quote