It’s Winter Weather Awareness week in the state of Minnesota.

The week is designed to help Minnesotans reduce the risks of winter. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety sponsors the week every fall in collaboration with the National Weather Service (NWS) and other state, federal, and non-profit agencies.

There will be a different theme each day in the effort to provide information that can be used with school, church or civic programs.

The theme for Tuesday is Outdoor Winter Safety.

There are several things you can do to protect yourself from the harsh winter conditions. It’s important to know the signs of hypothermia if you’re outdoors for a long period of time. Also, there are several safety tips to abide by whether it’s from the outdoors, in the car or home, and for pets. One other thing to keep in mind is to not overdue it when shoveling your driveway.

Doctors from Mayo Clinic say your blood vessels can constrict from being out in the cold and can cause an increase in blood pressure.

“That’s enough in a vulnerable individual sometimes to give them chest pains, ” said Dr. Sharonne Hayes, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic.