Record Breaking Cold Weather Across US

[Mrs. Sharon B. Hodge]

Record Breaking Cold Weather Across US



CBS January 14, 2009 - An arctic blast has blanketed much of the nation with record cold weather, as some regions have reached temperatures as low as 22 degrees below zero Weatherman Dave Price reports






Firefighter Bobby Lehman is coated with ice after fighting a fire at a multi-family home in Lynn, Mass, Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009, A cold wave expanded into the Northeast, bringing cold temperatures and biting winds


Traffic moves slowly along Ohio Highway 315 as the snow accumulates on Wednesday in Columbus

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Biting cold blows from Midwest to Northeast
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Even skiers stay away; minus double-digit temperatures recorded

Associated Press
Jan 14, 2009

http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/28653187/

MONTPELIER, Vt.
- The cold wave that stunned the nation's midsection expanded into the Northeast on Wednesday with subzero temperatures and biting wind that kept even some winter sports fans at home

The wind chill hit 33 below zero during the night at Massena, N.Y., and the National Weather Service predicted actual temperatures nearly that low in parts of the region by Thursday night. The weather service said Flint, Mich.
, set a record low early Wednesday at 19 degrees below zero

Forecasters also issued a lake effect snow warning Wednesday night for southwest Michigan, where a foot of snow or more could fall

Winter-hardened people across northern New England bundled up amid warnings about how fast exposed skin can freeze

Frostbite caution sign
"Anyone who sends their kid out today is out of the running for parent of the year," said Eric Friedman, a spokesman for Mad River Glen ski area in Fayston, Vt.
A frostbite caution sign was posted at the ticket office, but few skiers were there to see it because of the 5-below-zero cold, Friedman said

Schools from Iowa to North Carolina opened late so kids would not have to be out in the coldest part of the morning.
Some schools closed altogether

"Awful," said University of Dayton student Lauren Weining, who put on two pairs of pants and three sweaters under her coat for a 10-minute walk to her job on the Ohio school's campus.
"It's the longest 10 minutes I ever had this year"

No deaths were reported in the Northeast, but snowy conditions caused a 14-car crash Wednesday on Interstate 75 in Ohio and a truck trying to avoid the wreckage slammed into a car, killing the car's 55-year-old driver, said Tipp City patrolman Greg Adkins

Also on Wednesday, two men died in a 20-vehicle pileup in near-blizzard conditions on the Indiana Toll Road

A day earlier, a Wisconsin man died of exposure after wandering from his home; relatives said he was prone to sleepwalking.
Poor visibility in blowing snow was blamed for a 20-car pileup that killed two people Wednesday in Indiana

Snow also cut visibility in Chicago, where airlines canceled around 250 flights Wednesday afternoon at O'Hare International Airport

NBC News reported that Wednesday was the ninth consecutive day of measurable snowfall in Chicago, a new record for most consecutive days of snow since recording began in 1884. The previous record was eight consecutive days from Dec.
13-20, 1973

Road salt no help
In New York, where light snow was forecast and overnight lows Thursday near Albany were expected to be around minus 10, the frigid conditions caused complications for highway managers because road salt doesn't melt ice in subzero temperatures

"Once we get into minus 10, minus 20, in some cases we have to go to just straight sand, a light dusting of sand, on the highway to get some grit, provide some traction," said Mike Flick of the state Transportation Department in Pamelia

Mercifully, no major precipitation was forecast for New England. Parts of the region are still recovering from a Dec.
11 ice storm that tore down trees and power lines, cutting electricity to about 1 million homes and businesses in the Northeast — some for more than a week

This was just arctic cold, the kind that numbs the face, kills car batteries and freezes unguarded water pipes. Residents of Ironwood, Mich.
, were told to keep faucets running to prevent freeze-ups after a major break left the city without water, said Gogebic County emergency services coordinator Jim Loeper

"It slows you down a little bit. Your body doesn't move as fast as it should," said Shane West, 35, a roofer working on a house in Montpelier in 2-below cold.
"Even for us, it can become a problem sometimes," he said, referring to Vermonters accustomed to cold weather

A temperature around zero didn't faze truck driver Gary Jacobs, 49, of Barre, Vt.
, bundled in five layers — T-shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, hooded sweatshirt and coat, in addition to snowpants, boots and a knit cap

"People in Arizona say, 'It's a dry heat.
' This is a fresh cold," Jacobs said

Night skiing canceled

Vermont's Bolton Valley ski resort, where it was 10 below Wednesday morning, canceled night skiing through Friday night for fear that skiers could freeze if they were marooned on a malfunctioning ski lift

A couple of ski areas in northern Minnesota closed for the day because of temperatures that reached 38 below zero at International Falls, with the wind chill during the night estimated at 50 below

Homeless shelters were busy



Harvey Smith, 61, walks on a pier on the banks of Lake Erie, Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009, in Cleveland, The cold wave that stunned the nation's midsection expanded into the Northeast on Wednesday with subzero temperatures and biting wind


Butch Nelson is well bundled against the elements while clearing neighbors' properties of snow in Watertown, Wis, on Tuesday

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Midwest temps plummet to well below zero
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Some areas also see blizzard conditions; Chicago flights canceled

Associated Press
Jan 13, 2009

http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/28636150/

MINNEAPOLIS - Temperatures across the upper Midwest crashed to Arctic levels Tuesday as a severe cold wave rolled in on the heels of yet another snowstorm, closing schools and making most people think twice before going outside.
Thermometers read single digits early in the day as far south as Kansas and Missouri, where some areas warmed only into the teens by midday

The ice and snow that glazed pavement was blamed for numerous traffic accidents from Minnesota to Indiana, where police said a truck overturned and spilled 43,000 pounds of cheese, closing a busy highway ramp during the night in the Gary area

The bitter cold snap was responsible for at least one death Tuesday

51-year-old man in northern Wisconsin died from exposure after wandering from his Hayward home early Tuesday, authorities said.
His son reported him missing and said he was prone to sleepwalking, and deputies followed footprints in the snow to find the man about 190 yards from his house, Sawyer County Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle said

AAA Michigan responded to 1,450 motorists across the state Tuesday morning, mostly to assist with dead batteries, spinouts and minor accidents after an early snowfall, said spokeswoman Nancy Cain

Airlines had canceled more than 300 flights from Chicago's two airports in expectation of blizzard conditions Tuesday, Chicago Aviation Department spokesman Gregg Cunningham said.
However, the weather service lifted blizzard warnings early Tuesday as the snow moved eastward

'Not so bad' at -58
In Minnesota, some took it as just another winter day, even in the state's extreme northwest corner where thermometers bottomed out at 38 degrees below zero at the town of Hallock and the National Weather Service said the wind chill was a shocking 58 below

"It's really not so bad," Robert Cameron, 75, said as he and several friends gathered for morning coffee at the Cenex service station in Hallock. "We've got clothing that goes with the weather. ... We're ready and rolling, no matter what"

"It's so beautiful. There's not a cloud in the sky," said Keith Anderson, 66.
But he said that's not stopping him from skipping town at the end of the week to spend a couple of months in Nevada and Arizona

Outside, one of the station's gas pumps froze up at least once, and assistant manager Terrie Franks had to go out to apply deicer spray

"You definitely have to have gloves on because touching the cold metal — your hands are frozen," Franks said by telephone

The weather service warned that exposed flesh can freeze in 10 minutes when the wind chill is 40 degrees below zero or colder

At about 8 a.m., temperatures were minus 40 in International Falls and minus 35 in Roseau.
Farther south, Minneapolis hit 18 below zero with a wind chill of 32 below and black ice was blamed for numerous accidents

Some areas saw blizzard conditions

"It's like a sea of whiteness; people can't see the road," said Rebecca Arndt, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation in Mankato.
"When the white fluffy stuff starts to blow, it is not pretty"

In neighboring North Dakota, Grand Forks dropped to a record low for Jan.
13 of 37 below zero, lopping six degrees off the old record set in 1979, the National Weather Service said

Schools were closed because of the cold as far south as Iowa, and authorities in Grand Rapids, Mich.
, went out urging the homeless to seek shelter

At least two-thirds of Ohio was under a winter weather advisory and a blizzard watch covers a few counties as the state braces for more snow, wind and colder temperatures

Heading east
The leading edge of the cold air was expected to strike the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and South late Tuesday and Wednesday.
Residents in the Atlanta area could see temperatures in the high teens

And meteorologists warned that a second wave could drop temperatures into the single digits Friday in the mid-Atlantic region

What was left of that snowstorm was blowing eastward along the Great Lakes.