<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/mattbevin.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/mattbevin.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/mattbevin.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin speaks about the upcoming legislative session at the Kentucky Chamber Day Dinner in Lexington, Ky., Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

At a Glance Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin says America is getting soft for keeping kids home from school in extreme cold.

Children are particularly susceptible to frostbite and hypothermia.

Wind chill values in Kentucky dipped to the 30s below zero, cold enough to cause frostbite in 30 minutes.

The governor's comments were met with scorn from educators and politicians, including those from his own party.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said America is "getting soft" by closing schools during the extreme cold that has gripped the country this week even as wind chills in his state have dipped low enough to cause frostbite in 30 minutes.

In a radio interview Tuesday with 840 WHAS radio in Louisville, the Republican governor bemoaned the fact the schools across the state would be closed Wednesday because of the bitter cold, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

"Now we cancel school for cold, I mean — " Bevin told host Terry Meiners.

"It's deep freeze; this is serious business," Meiners responded.

"Come on, now," Bevin said. "There's no ice going with it or any snow. What happens to America. We're getting soft, Terry, we're getting soft."

"It's better to air on the side of being safe, and I'm being only slightly facetious, but it does concern me a little bit that in America on this, and any number of other fronts, we're sending messages to our young people that if life is hard you can curl up in the fetal position in a warm place and just wait until it stops being hard," the governor added.

Wind chill temperatures in Kentucky dipped as low as the 30s below zero on Wednesday in northern Kentucky. Based on that, frostbite could occur on any areas of exposed skin in just 30 minutes , the NWS notes. Frostbite occurs when the skin and tissue right below the skin's surface freeze and can result in blisters, loss of feeling and even loss of limbs in extreme cases.

Wind chill temperatures have dropped as low as 66 degrees below zero in northwest Minnesota, the epicenter of the cold outbreak. In those conditions exposed skin would be frostbitten in five minutes or less.

Children are more at risk than adults to extreme temperature-related ailments like hypothermia, which the NWS calls "the most common winter weather killer."

The Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) notes that children's unique physiology makes them more susceptible to extreme temperatures because they are less able to regulate their body temperature than adults.

"Children exposed to extreme cold can quickly develop a dangerously low body temperature," the organization says, noting that hypothermia can lead to heart arrhythmias.

AAP added that the best way to help children to avoid frostbite and hypothermia is to remain indoors when it is dangerously cold.

Due to these risks, the National Weather Service issues wind chill advisories and warnings when wind chill values drop low enough that they could cause frostbite or other harm to the skin in less than 30 minutes, weather.com meteorologist Linda Lam noted in an article describing the dangers of extreme cold .

At least six such wind chill advisories were issued by the NWS for Kentucky as of Wednesday afternoon.

(MORE: What You Need To Do Before It Gets Ridiculously Cold)

Educators and politicians across the state took to social media in droves to condemn Bevin's comments.

Kentucky's "Teacher of the Year" Jessica Dueñas posted an impassioned video on Twitter Tuesday challenging Bevin to prove how "hard" he is by going outside on Wednesday.

"Stand outside for 30 minutes as if you were waiting for the bus, dressed as one of our students would be, because I guarantee you most of our students are not wearing some fancy Patagonia or North Face jackets.”

“How about you give one of our students your jackets, and you stand outside in that cold, since you’re being so ‘hard?’” she added.

(MORE: Extreme Cold Grips Midwest: 2 Dead, Thousands Without Power, Schools Closed, Mail Delivery Suspended)

The Kentucky Education Association said in a tweet Wednesday that it fully backed the decision to keep students at home.

“We will always support decisions made for the health and safety of Kentucky’s children,” the teachers' union wrote. “Always.”

Adam Edelen, former state auditor and Democratic candidate for governor, called Bevin's comments "dumb and mean."

Even members of Bevin's own Republican party reacted with disdain.

Doug Stafford, an adviser to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky), noted in a tweet that “it will be 0 degrees with 20-30 mph winds in places in KY tomorrow."

“Kids have to sit on bus stops and or walk a mile or more in that. No one wants to hear your old man stories about walking uphill both ways in that when you were a kid,” he added.