FRANKLIN COUNTY (WSLS 10) - When winter weather arrives, it can have an effect on how first responders do their jobs. That's especially true for those who take to the sky to get to the scene.
The Carilion Clinic Life-Guard 10 crew gets a weather briefing every day and monitors any weather changes.
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The helicopter can fly in extreme cold, as low as 20 below, but not when there is any ice in the air.
Ice essentially means dead weight pulling down the life-saving aircraft.
"Anywhere on anything that's protruding we get what they call parasite drag with ice, it just makes the aircraft heavier," said David Schmidt, Life-Guard 10 Pilot. "It doesn't create as much lift as we need to keep flying."
The windshield can also ice up just like a car. There's even a defroster.