Below-zero temps from the northern Plains across the Great Lakes

[Richard]

Ahh...the joy of winter, I feel like I'm living in Alaska. icon_cold

By The Associated Press

A bone-chilling Arctic cold wave with temperatures as low as 38 below zero shut down schools for thousands of youngsters Monday, halted some Amtrak service and put car batteries on the disabled list from the northern Plains across the Great Lakes.

The cold was accompanied by snow that was measured in feet in parts of upstate New York.

"Anybody in their right mind wouldn't want to be out in weather like this," Lawrence Wiley, 57, said at the Drop Inn Center homeless shelter where he has been living in Cincinnati. Monday lows in the area were in the single digits.

With temperatures near zero and a wind chill of 25 below, school districts across Ohio canceled classes. "We have a lot of kids that walk to school. We didn't think it was worth the risk," Sandusky City Schools Superintendent Bill Pahl said.

With a temperature of 12 below zero and wind chill of 31 below, Wisconsin's largest school district, Milwaukee Public Schools, also shut down, idling some 90,000 children. In upstate New York 34,000 kids got the day off in Rochester because of near-zero temperatures. Schools also closed in parts of Michigan. Even in Minnesota, where February cold is the norm and people are accustomed to coping, some charter schools closed.

The temperature crashed to 38 below zero Monday morning at Hallock in northwestern Minnesota, and to 30 below at International Falls, the weather service said.

Veterinarian Wade Himes wasn't too concerned as he ate breakfast at the Shorelunch Cafe in International Falls.

"We get up and go to work, and people come and see us. I don't think anything changes that much. (You) just dress warm," said Himes, 69.

Grand Forks, N.D., also registered 30 below.

"For this time of year, this isn't that unusual, as far as temperatures go," said weather service meteorologist Bill Abeling in Bismarck. "To get record temperatures this time of year in North Dakota, you've got to delve down in the 40-below region, so we're not even close."

Hayward, Wis., fell to 27 below on Monday, with a wind chill of minus 36, and wind chills around the state dipped to nearly 40 below.

Amtrak shut down passenger service in parts of western and northern New York state, where the cold was accompanied by as much as 2 feet of snow fed by moisture from the Great Lakes near Buffalo and Watertown. Whiteout conditions and slippery pavement shut down a 38-mile stretch of the New York Thruway during the night.

At least 30 water main breaks were blamed on the cold in Detroit, city Water and Sewerage Department spokesman George Ellenwood told The Detroit News.

The cold also brought calls for help from car owners faced with dead batteries and frozen locks.

"During the weekend, 10,000 motorists called for assistance. And that's a record in recent years," Nancy Cain, spokeswoman for AAA Michigan, said Monday. "This morning we've already had 300 calls for help."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070205/ap_on_re_us/arctic_blast&printer=1;_ylt=AkFUgc8fl1DlvJQpDy_Eo8pH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

[Astrojewels]

Richard,
How do you stand it! Your spring is like our winter and it takes all my might to get though it, if I had to experience that kind of weather I would surely die or become a bear and never go outside. I feel for all of you, give me a heat wave anytime... we are currently having a heat wave and maybe you could send us a cool breeze and we will send you warmth.

[Richard]

Karen, you gave me a good laugh talking about your winter. I enjoy spring and wish it could be like that all year around here. I also like fall. It’s the blazing hot summers I hate dealing with. I use to like winter when I was a kid but now its pain to deal with. Like you I would rather hibernate like a bear until it’s over with. For the past couple weeks it’s been below zero and snowing everyday. So I’ve had to spend a couple hours everyday snow blowing the driveway, sidewalks, and paths for the dog. It’s growing old and I can’t wait until it’s over with. icon_2cold
I’ll visualize a giant fan blowing our cold air to Australia and give you that cool breeze you want. icon_ventilator

Here's a couple links with some interesting photos you might like seeing.

Hole In The Sky: Vivid Evidence Of Weather Control - Photos

Think You're Cold?

[Astrojewels]

That is amazing, it looks like an ice sculpture, imagine trying to open the door in that car. Why would anyone live there? those photos are great.
Richard, I asked for a cool breeze not a 20 degree drop on temps, yesterday I had pants on it was so cold, but it was a relief to many, so thanks for the south wind, but one day is enough so you can turn off the fan now.. ha

[Polly]

Someone sent me the ice pictures a few days ago posted on Rense and I thought they were pretty groovy! I'd love to see ice like that but maybe not where I live. :-) I like how the wind curved the tips of the ice.

[DreamTime]

At least we don't have the ocean to spray ice on us. We only get the cold and snow - and once in a while an ice storm.

[William]

Wow, Dreamtime and Richard...  That looks like a winter wonderland....  Us guys down south have no idea what you guys go thru.....  But it does look beautiful!

                             icon_candle

[Richard]

Richard, I asked for a cool breeze not a 20 degree drop on temps, yesterday I had pants on it was so cold, but it was a relief to many, so thanks for the south wind, but one day is enough so you can turn off the fan now.. ha

 
That’s funny the temp drop so much out there. It sounds like the fan worked well. Now I’ll have to send you some rain.

[Polly]

That's a great picture, Dream Time. I really like being outside when it is snowing and there is no wind, especially at night. It is one of the most peaceful of times for me.

[Astrojewels]

Yes please, rain and more rain.