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Freeze warnings issued as vast area of US gripped by Arctic chill At least nine deaths from cold as vast area of US gripped by Arctic chill
(about 4 hours later)
Severe cold gripped much of the US as 2018 began, breaking century-old records and leading to several deaths that authorities attributed to exposure to the dangerously low temperatures. Dangerously cold temperatures across the US have been blamed for at least nine deaths. The plunge in temperature has wreaked havoc in some places, freezing a water tower in Iowa, halting ferry service in New York and leading officials to open warming centers even in the deep south.
The National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories and freeze warnings on Tuesday covering a vast area from south Texas to Canada and from Montana through New England. Authorities opened warming shelters in the south as temperatures dipped notably close to zero in Alabama and Georgia. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued wind chill advisories and freeze warnings on Tuesday covering a vast area from south Texas to Canada and from Montana through New England.
The bitter cold wave enveloped much of the midwest on Monday, yet that did not deter hundreds of people from ringing in the new year by jumping into Lake Michigan. Throngs of people took part in the Polar Plunge in Milwaukee, despite sub-freezing temperatures and a warning of potential hypothermia from the local fire chief. Organizers canceled a similar event on the Chicago lakefront, after the temperature there dipped below zero and thick white steam rose from the lake. Organizers said the Arctic blast made jumping into the lake too dangerous. Indianapolis tied a record low of -12F (-24C) for 2 January, set in 1887, leading Indianapolis Public Schools to cancel classes. The north-west Indiana city of Lafayette got down to -19F (-28C), shattering the previous record of -5F (-21C) for the date, set in 1979, the NWS said. After residents there began complaining of an audible hum, Duke Energy said it was caused by extra power surging through utility lines to meet electricity demands.
Temperatures plunged below zero elsewhere in the midwest, including in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where the mercury dropped to a record-breaking minus 32F (-36C). The city’s previous New Year’s Day record had stood for 99 years. “The temperatures are certainly extreme but we’ve seen colder,” said Joseph Nield, a meteorologist in Indianapolis, noting that the all-time low temperature in Indiana was -36F (-38C) in 1994.
In Nebraska, temperatures hit 15 below zero (-26C) before midnight on Sunday in Omaha, breaking a record low dating to 1884. Omaha officials cited the forecast in postponing the 18th annual New Year’s Eve Fireworks Spectacular that draws about 30,000 people. Nevertheless, the cold is nothing to trifle with, forecasters warned. With Chicago-area wind chills expected between -35F and -20F (-37C and -29C), forecasters warned of frost bite and hypothermia risks and urged residents to take precautions, including dressing in layers, wearing a hat and gloves, covering exposed skin and bringing pets indoors.
It was colder in Des Moines, Iowa, where city officials closed a downtown outdoor ice skating plaza and said it would not reopen until the city emerged from sub-zero temperatures. The temperature hit 20 below zero (-29C) early on Monday, with the wind chill dipping to negative 31F (-35C). Atlanta hospitals were seeing a surge in emergency room visits for hypothermia and other ailments as temperatures plunged well below freezing. The temperature in Atlanta fell to 13F (-11C) before dawn on Tuesday.
The weather service says that early morning temperatures on Tuesday in Indianapolis tied a record low of minus 12F (-24C) for 2 January set in 1887. Indianapolis Public Schools canceled classes for Tuesday on all its campuses due to the predicted sub-zero temperatures. Students had been scheduled to return from winter break. “We have a group of patients who are coming in off the street who are looking to escape the cold – we have dozens and dozens of those every day,” said Dr Brooks Moore, associate medical director in the emergency department of Grady Health System, which operates Georgia’s largest hospital in Atlanta.
In north-eastern Montana, the wind chill readings dipped as low as minus 58F (-50C). And in Duluth, Minnesota, a city known for its bitter cold winters, the wind chill dipped to 36 below zero (-38C). The cold has been blamed in at least nine deaths in the past week.
Police in St Louis said a homeless man was found dead inside a trash bin on Monday evening, apparently frozen to death as the temperature dropped to -6F (-21C). Sheriff’s officials in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, said a 27-year-old woman whose body was found on Monday evening on the shore of Lake Winnebago probably died of exposure.
The Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office said two men whose bodies were found on Sunday showed signs of hypothermia. Police believe the cold weather also may have been a factor in the death of a man in Bismarck, North Dakota, whose body was found near a river.
Warming shelters were opened across the south as freeze watches and warnings blanketed the region, including hard freeze warnings for much of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Temperatures fell to 8F (-13C) near Cullman, Alabama, and 20F (-7C) in Mobile, Alabama. Georgia saw one of its coldest temperatures of the winter: 2F (-17C) shortly before dawn at a US Forest Service weather station at Toccoa.
Plunging overnight temperatures in Texas brought rare snow flurries as far south as Austin, and accidents racked up on icy roads across the state. In the central Texas city of Abilene, the local police chief said more than three dozen vehicle crashes were reported in 24 hours.Plunging overnight temperatures in Texas brought rare snow flurries as far south as Austin, and accidents racked up on icy roads across the state. In the central Texas city of Abilene, the local police chief said more than three dozen vehicle crashes were reported in 24 hours.
It was even cold in the deep south, as temperatures plummeted early on Tuesday to 14F (-10C) in Atlanta and 26F (-3C) as far south as New Orleans. Temperatures fell to 8F near Cullman, Alabama, and 20F in Mobile, Alabama. Georgia saw one of its coldest temperatures of the winter: 2F shortly before dawn at a US Forest Service weather station at Toccoa, Georgia. Warming shelters were opened across the south as freeze watches and warnings blanketed the region, including hard freeze warnings for much of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. In Savannah, Georgia – where the January’s average high is 60F (16C) – the temperature hovered at 30F (-1C) at noon on Tuesday, cold enough for icicles to dangle from the ornate wrought-iron fountain in Forsyth Park at the edge of the city’s downtown historic district. The city could see up to 2in of snow and sleet on Wednesday, its first measureable snow since February 2010.
The cold has been attributed in at least eight deaths in the past week. Most recently, sheriff’s officials in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, said a 27-year-old woman whose body was found on Monday evening on the shore of Lake Winnebago probably died of exposure. The Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office said two men whose bodies were found on Sunday showed signs of hypothermia. Police believe the cold weather also may have been a factor in the death of a man in Bismarck, North Dakota, whose body was found near a river. “I’ve never seen icicles in Savannah, period,” said Sean Dempsey, a local restaurant manager who wore a hat, gloves and a thick coat to walk his dogs. “I’m pretty sure last year at New Year’s lots of families were in the park playing catch, Frisbee football and stuff like that.”