Memphis: 10 degrees with minus 4 wind chill.Atlanta: 9 degrees with minus 8 wind chill.“Although it is Christmas, in these dangerous conditions, no one should put themselves or others at risk,” he said via Twitter.Įven where it wasn’t snowing and howling, temperatures and wind chills have been dangerously low across much of the country.įrom the Plains and the Midwest to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and even in parts of the Southeast, wind chills after the sun rose Saturday morning were below zero, according to the National Weather Service. Fisher on Saturday urged churches to livestream Christmas Mass because of the severe weather. National Guard troops were arriving Saturday to “rescue people that are stuck in vehicles,” and to give rides to medical workers so they could relieve colleagues who’d been working at hospitals for more than a day, Poloncarz said.īuffalo Diocese Bishop Michael W. “It’s much safer to be inside, even if you lost your power with it only being 45 degrees inside, than going out and dealing with minus 20 wind chills and blinding conditions.” “Don’t leave your home,” Poloncarz said on CNN Saturday to anyone thinking about traveling to or within the area. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/Getty Imagesĥ ways you can help those facing homelessness in the cold A major snowstorm is forecasted for the East Coast this weekend with some areas expected to receive up to 30 inches of snow. WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 22: A homeless woman tires to keep warm near a steam grate on Constitution Avenue Januin Washington, DC. In hardest-hit areas, many emergency crews that tried to reach the stranded became stuck themselves, Poloncarz said. “They’re definitely exhausted, but we’re seeing a little hope right now.” “It’s very nerve racking and difficult,” she said. “I’ve tried to walk out to them with a sled but conditions by myself were just impossible,” she said.īelles said by Saturday afternoon they got help getting the car unstuck but there was no path for them to leave. “There is nothing more I want other than their safety right now,” Belles told CNN Saturday, adding that her dad could walk home but he would never leave his mother alone. Contact with them is limited due to their phone battery, and they have been turning the heat on and off to save gas. They have been stuck on New York State Route 198 in Buffalo – less than a mile from her home – since Friday afternoon. Lia Belles’ 85-year-old grandmother and her father were among the stranded. That’s despite a county driving ban put in place during the storm. The county’s Deputy Commissioner of Disaster Preparedness and Homeland Security, Gregory Butcher, said the storm will be significant “for days to come.”Ībout 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles in Erie County Friday night into Saturday morning, and a “couple hundred” may still be trapped early Saturday afternoon, Poloncarz told CNN. “This is still a life-threatening situation,” he said. The winter storm could continue for at least the next 36 hours, with the blizzard warning in effect until 7 a.m. In Erie County, which includes Buffalo, blizzard conditions are expected to continue through at least Sunday morning, County Executive Mark Poloncarz told reporters Saturday. More than a foot more could fall Saturday, with winds gusting up to 65 mph and making temperatures feel well below zero. In New York’s Buffalo area particularly, heavy snow ( more than 2 feet in places) and strong winds (sometimes higher than 60 mph) at times made visibility close to zero Friday into Saturday. More than 315,000 homes and businesses nationwide were without power Christmas Eve, thanks to an Arctic blast and winter storm that tore down power lines with destructive winds and heavy snow and dipped temperatures dangerously low – conditions killing at least 22 people.Īs bone-chilling air continues to grip the US this holiday weekend, the storm still is pummeling parts of the Upper Midwest and interior Northeast with heavy snow and blizzard conditions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |