Here’s how you should walk to avoid slipping on ice during winter weather – and it ‘might seem silly’

Health board encourages people to walk like a penguin to avoid falling on ice

Staff at a National Health Service office in Scotland demonstrate the way to walk to avoid slips and falls on ice. (Credit: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde via Storyful)

A National Health Service office in Scotland is encouraging people to "walk like a penguin" to avoid slips and falls on icy pavements.

According to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, adopting a penguin walk is a safer way to get about in the cold weather, as it could help keep a person more stable and minimize the risk of losing balance or slipping on ice.

In a video released by the agency, staff are demonstrating the "penguin stance": keeping knees slightly bent, pointing feet slightly outward, extending arms at your sides, walking with flat-footed steps and keeping your center of gravity over feet.

"While it might seem silly to walk or waddle like a penguin, the alternative may be a nasty injury or even time in hospital," Dr. Emilia Crighton, the director for public health at NHSGGC, said in a press release Monday. "Remember, when it comes to getting around on ice, penguins know best, so when you’re out and about in the next few days, adopting the penguin stance is a really effective way to move without falling."

Winter weather continues to impact US

Crighton also urged people to support elderly neighbors and family members by doing tasks and errands on their behalf to avoid them needing to go out in icy conditions.

Deadly cold spreads through parts of the US

The looming threat of record-low temperatures Wednesday guarantees an extended stay of snow on the southern U.S. border. FOX Weather's Brandy Campbell has the latest.

A powerful winter storm that’s currently slamming the Pacific Northwest with widespread freezing rain is set to move across the country and impact millions of people on the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast and New England later this week.

This won’t be a blockbuster snowstorm, but the FOX Weather Forecast Center said it will still be disruptive to travel, with snow totals ranging from about an inch to 5 inches.

This story was reported from Los Angeles. Storyful contributed.