People in southwestern Connecticut got off to a bitter cold start Wednesday.

Doctors are stressing the importance of being prepared in these cold conditions.

People who have to be outside working in the cold were not happy.

"I don't like it at all," Jerry Bramanti said.

Some were prepared to be outside all day.

"Slacked up. Double slacked, triple slacked. Three or four things on. I don't play. This is an everyday thing, and I own this so this is nothing new to me," Patrick Mayfield Johnson with Mayfield Johnson Trucking said.

If you have to be outside for an extended period of time, doctors at Yale New Haven health advise that you dress warmly, avoid leaving skin exposed and stay hydrated.

Dr. Justin Cahill says so far Bridgeport Hospital hasn't seen any cold-related injuries, but that may change this week.

"The body again warns you when you're starting to get cold injury, and it will begin with frost nip. So with frost nip you'll feel pain and maybe like a burning tingling sensation in your fingers. Again that's a good time to take that warning from your body get inside and get those areas warmed up," Cahill said.

Thursday will be warmer, but the coldest weather is still ahead.

Forecasters say Saturday looks like a bone chiller with temperatures flirting around zero.