Wind Advisory
from SAT 12:00 PM MST until SAT 10:00 PM MST, Western Pima County including Ajo/Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Tohono O'odham Nation including Sells, Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys including Nogales, Tucson Metro Area including Tucson/Green Valley/Marana/Vail, South Central Pinal County including Eloy/Picacho Peak State Park, Southeast Pinal County including Kearny/Mammoth/Oracle, Upper San Pedro River Valley including Sierra Vista/Benson, Eastern Cochise County below 5000 ft including Douglas/Wilcox, Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys including Clifton/Safford, White Mountains of Graham and Greenlee Counties including Hannagan Meadow, Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains including Mount Graham, Chiricahua Mountains including Chiricahua National Monument, Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains including Bisbee/Canelo Hills/Madera Canyon, Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains including Mount Lemmon/Summerhaven, Baboquivari Mountains including Kitt Peak, Kofa, Central La Paz, Aguila Valley, Southeast Yuma County, Gila River Valley, Northwest Valley, Tonopah Desert, Gila Bend, Buckeye/Avondale, Cave Creek/New River, Deer Valley, Central Phoenix, North Phoenix/Glendale, New River Mesa, Scottsdale/Paradise Valley, Rio Verde/Salt River, East Valley, Fountain Hills/East Mesa, South Mountain/Ahwatukee, Southeast Valley/Queen Creek, Superior, Northwest Pinal County, West Pinal County, Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, Tonto Basin, Mazatzal Mountains, Pinal/Superstition Mountains, Sonoran Desert Natl Monument, San Carlos, Dripping Springs, Globe/Miami, Southeast Gila County

Police warn parents of dangers of winter coats and child car seats

As the winter ushers in frigid temperatures, police are reminding parents of the hazards associated with bulky coats and children riding in car seats.

While keeping your child warm is a major concern, puffy jackets should be removed before strapping them into their car seat, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Demonstration of how a child's harness should fit over their jacket.  (NHTSA)

Thick coats can interfere with how tightly the harness fits and ultimately make the car seat ineffective during a crash. 

"Instead, use a lightweight jacket with a blanket over top, or even use the heavier jacket as a blanket," Logan Township police in Pennsylvania suggested in a post on Facebook.

A quick way to check if your child’s coat is too bulky is to pinch the harness between your thumb and forefinger. If there is any slack room between the straps and your child’s chest, it needs to be tightened, according to safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

Forty-three percent of children who died from car crashes between 2010 and 2014 were improperly restrained, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.