[ad_1]
CHICAGO – An intense and brutal cold weather set in the Midwest on Wednesday, dropping temperatures to depths that even stunned Midwesterners, a group accustomed to fleeing the winter. The cold weather in the center of the country caused the cars to moan, to breathe, to sting some of the exposed skin.
Cities like Chicago were getting ready to freeze for days. arrived, much of life was at a standstill. Colleges and schools were closed all around, and even the United States Postal Service had stopped deliveries to certain places. The workers were sent home, the meetings were canceled and the parties canceled.
And the worst of the explosion was yet to come: weather forecasts announced that temperatures would drop again after sundown Wednesday and that Chicago could even break its record of minus 27 The outlook for Thursday was different but still dark: slightly warmer temperatures and snow.
Here are the latest developments:
• Temperatures have dropped and could break records. Minneapolis dropped to less than 28, with wind chill reaching less than 53, the National Meteorological Service announced. Chicago had less 23, with a wind chill of minus 50. And Milwaukee hit minus 20, with a wind chill of minus 47.
• It was reported that up to five deaths were related to the system of Midwestern cold, According to the Associated Press, a man was reportedly frozen in a Milwaukee garage, including a man hit by a snow plow in the Chicago area, and a couple killed in a car accident on a road from Indiana. Detroit convenience stores reported that a 70-year-old man was found dead near his home in what the police called "limited clothing."
• Officials from the region declared the state of emergency and warned of frostbite. hypothermia, and urged residents to adhere to the following guidelines: stay indoors
• According to FlightAware, more than 2,000 flights were canceled across the United States, most of which were heading to the freeze. Midwest.
• We asked Chicago, for people working in extreme cold conditions, practical advice for their survival. Here's what they said.
Shops are closed and streets are empty
All around Chicago, restaurants and shops seemed to have one thing in common: a sign hastily placed in the door to indicate that they were closed for the day. .
There would be no chance of a stracciatella ball at Frio Gelato on Clark Street (no one would like it), nor of Wiener schnitzel at the Berghoff café in downtown.
[ catch frostbite in minutes. Here's what to do. ]
Trade slowed throughout the Midwest, but it was unlikely that freezing conditions would be a heavy economic toll. In a 2015 report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago concluded that the winter climate had "a significant, but short-lived, effect on economic activity".
But the report suggests that economists have been striving for a long time to determine the financial consequences of events. like the polar vortex this week, especially because regional factors affect regional and national economies.
Still, many companies did not work as usual on Wednesday, suggesting that the consequences locally may not be reflected in long-term data. Even "Disney on Ice", which was scheduled to shoot Wednesday night at the United Center in Chicago, was canceled.
[ Click here to learn more about the effects of freezing on homeless people. ]
Some Restaurants Resisted Well
At Huck Finn, a restaurant on the southwest side, there were fewer customers than usual, said Demetri Hiotis, General Manager . But the people who came were gay, almost exuberant.
"It's like they're going through some kind of weather history – everyone has stayed, and we're here to do our job," Hiotis said. "There is a sense of pride. It is 22 ° C but I went to work, took my breakfast, my coffee and my donut. "
The smoke of the sea rises from a glacial lake Michigan
The temperature at Montrose Harbor on the north side of Chicago on Wednesday was 21 degrees lower zero, with a strong wind blowing from the west This did not deter Iggy Ignoffo, who wore sunglasses and a warm hat, his hands stuffed in his pockets, at the edge of Lake Michigan.
"I could see Venus, Jupiter and the moon there Some time ago "says showing the sky," Beautiful. "The sea smoke came out of the lake because of the extremely cold air blowing on the warmer water. Downtown was visible in the distance, several miles away.
The harbor was barely deserted: a stream of curious people was hiding in and out of their cars, taking pictures, taking a short frolic moment in the
Ignoffo and his wife descend all the time in the harbor, he says, one of the end the most photogenic roits of the city. This time, she stayed in the car.
"Now I'm going to bathe," said Mr. Ignoffo, starting back to his car. "On the inside".
Schools and colleges close, but it was not an ordinary snow day
Schools across much of the nation canceled classes while dangerous jellies were over. ; lowered. Some said they would consider canceling them on Thursday. Many Midwestern institutions tend to stay open despite snowstorms and cold spells, but this was different. For the second consecutive day on Wednesday, students were invited to stay at home at the University of South Dakota, in Vermillion, where it was expected a maximum of minus 3, relatively hot compared to the previous year. other parts of the Midwest.
With approximately 44,000 students Wednesday at the University of Wisconsin, temperatures on the Madison campus are expected to drop to minus 30 degrees in the evening. University authorities have been criticized for keeping the campus open Monday and Tuesday in bad weather.
Hundreds of thousands of young students in schools in the middle section of the country also have no classes on Wednesday. School district administrators in Cincinnati and surrounding areas, worried about schoolchildren heading to school or the possibility of a bus crashing, interrupted their classes.
Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky reportedly disagreed with the decision of many schools and colleges in that state to close on Wednesday. "We are beginning to show restraint," said Republican Mr. Bevin, in an interview on the radio on Tuesday. Wednesday's weather forecast in Louisville was 9 degrees Celsius, with a wind chill as low as minus 15.
A school day at home pleased some students, but many might be forced to catch up later . A banner on the Park Hill School District website, in the suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri, told students to stay home but offered an extra note: The school year will be extended for one day .
The planes are going well, but there were still many cancellations
Despite the extreme cold, aircraft icing was not a major concern on Wednesday because the rains were not sufficient to allow the ice to accumulate. And planes have no trouble flying in such extreme temperatures (it can be as cold as minus 70 degrees at flight level), but ground equipment is more sensitive to cold – not to mention the ground team.
United Airlines canceled about 500 flights. Chicago O'Hare International Airport between Wednesday and Thursday morning, most of the concerned flights involving other Midwestern airports. American Airlines has canceled about 400, including 170 at its Chicago hub.
Delta Air Lines, which has hubs in Minneapolis and Detroit, canceled about 40 flights. Some of these cancellations were caused by the freezing of fuel chains, said Michael Thomas, a spokesman for Delta.
Airlines were also taking steps to ensure the safety of their ground crews. United has set up temporary heating shelters at several airports in the area and has hired additional on-trail workers to rotate the crews so that employees can save time to a minimum. Delta also said that she had recruited more workers, that she had warmed her hands and scheduled additional hydration breaks in order to avoid as much as possible the presence of workers' elements.
Many trains and buses continue to operate, although schedules have been slowed down.
The Chicago Transit Authority in Chicago reported that its "L" trains were operating, but that some lines, including those connecting Midway and O & Hare airports to downtown, were operating on modified schedules or with delays. Some bus lines were diverted.
But Metra, a suburban railroad in the Chicago area that had already announced modified schedules, said it had suspended electric train service for an indefinite period because of wiring problems "caused by severe temperatures under the gel ".
Chicago, the Detroit transit agencies, Milwaukee and the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul were trying to function normally Wednesday but some warned customers of the risk of delays.
"Runners should dress appropriately (several levels), stay indoors for as long as possible and know that they may have to wait longer than usual", said Milwaukee County Transit System
Amtrak, which usually operates 55 trains to and from Chicago each day, has announced that it has canceled all of its operations, Wednesday's services involving the city, and the fact that most Thursday's trains would also be scratched.Because of the importance of Chicago in the Amtrak network, the decision should be made throughout the country.
It's so cold outside, that's is it global warming?
Extremely low temperatures this week in parts of the US, in sharp contrast to warmer winters, but they may also be due to warmer temperatures.
Emerging research suggests that Arctic warming is causing changes in the jet stream and driving polar air to latitudes that are unusual and often unprepared. Hence the atypical cold this week over vast expanses of the Northeast and Midwest.
Friederike Otto, an Oxford University climatologist who studies how certain weather phenomena are exacerbated by global warming, can not be blamed on all these extreme events. climate change, the profound changes in the Earth 's atmosphere are "giving rise to the probability of a large number of extreme events".
[ Click here to learn more about the link between climate change and climate change. ]
Source link
