Texas – Extreme cold during winter weather significantly increases the risk of deadly hypothermia when alcohol is involved, according to physicians, because alcohol masks the body’s natural warning signs as core temperature drops.
Medical experts explain that alcohol causes blood vessels to dilate, sending warm blood toward the skin’s surface. This creates a false sensation of warmth — flushed skin or sweating — while allowing vital heat to escape more rapidly from the body’s core. As a result, internal body temperature can fall to dangerous levels without the person realizing it.
Physicians warn this false warmth is one of the primary reasons alcohol-related hypothermia can become deadly, particularly in states where residents are less accustomed to prolonged cold. Alcohol suppresses shivering, dulls the body’s cold-response signals, and impairs judgment, increasing the likelihood that people underestimate exposure or remain outdoors longer than is safe.
In Texas communities, risk rises sharply during sudden winter weather events. Areas near highways, transit stops, parking structures, downtown entertainment districts, and large public gathering spaces become exposure zones when temperatures drop unexpectedly. In Houston, locations around METRORail stations, downtown corridors, and open-air nightlife districts can pose heightened risk. In San Antonio, areas near the River Walk, downtown plazas, and walkable entertainment zones create similar dangers during cold snaps.
A major challenge for emergency response is that hypothermia often looks like intoxication. Slurred speech, confusion, loss of coordination, and drowsiness — commonly assumed to be signs of drinking — closely resemble early hypothermia symptoms. That overlap can delay emergency care when conditions deteriorate quickly.
Winter weather conditions in Texas can be especially dangerous due to wind, freezing rain, ice, and power outages. Wet clothing accelerates heat loss, and limited access to heating during outages can compound exposure risk. Alcohol further worsens the danger by dehydrating the body and reducing its ability to regulate temperature.
Physicians urge immediate action if a person cannot stand, answer basic questions, appears unusually confused, has cold or pale skin, or stops shivering. In those situations, alcohol should not be assumed to be the cause. Hypothermia is a medical emergency and can be fatal without prompt treatment.
For commuters, workers, students, and residents across Texas during winter weather events, physicians emphasize a critical warning: feeling warm after drinking does not mean the body is safe from extreme cold.
