Over 20 dead in U.S. polar vortex, frostbite amputations feared

[webfact]

Over 20 dead in U.S. polar vortex, frostbite amputations feared

By Jonathan Allen

 

Man clears snow during a winter storm in Buffalo, New York, U.S., January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario

 

(Reuters) - Tens of millions of Americans braved Arctic-like temperatures on Thursday as low as minus 56 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 49 Celsius) that paralysed the U.S. Midwest and were blamed for at least 21 deaths.

 

Warmer-than-normal weather was on the way, but that offered little comfort to vulnerable populations such as the homeless and elderly enduring cold that caused frostbite in minutes and made being outside potentially deadly.

 

Officials across multiple states linked numerous deaths to the frigid air. The death toll rose from a previous 12 after at least nine more people in Chicago were reported to have died from cold-related injuries, according to Stathis Poulakidas, a doctor at the city's John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital.

 

Poulakidas, a trauma specialist, said the hospital had seen about 25 frostbite victims this week. He said the most severe cases risked having fingers and toes amputated.

 

Among those believed to have died from the cold was University of Iowa student Gerard Belz. The eighteen-year-old was found unresponsive on campus early Wednesday morning just a short walk from his dorm, according to university officials. Police told a local television station they believed the cold played a factor in his death. The wind chill at the time officers found Belz was minus 51 F (minus 46 C), according to the National Weather Service.

 

Homeless and displaced people were particularly at risk, with Chicago and other cities setting up warming shelters. But many toughed it out in camps or vacant buildings. A 60-year-old woman found dead in an abandoned house in Lorain, Ohio, was believed to have died of hypothermia, Lorain County Coroner Stephen Evans said.

 

"There’s just no way if you’re not near a heat source that you can survive for very long out in weather like this," Evans told the Chronicle-Telegram newspaper.

 

60 DEGREES F BY SATURDAY

It has been more than 20 years since a similar blast of frigid air covered a swath of the U.S. Midwest and Northeast, according to the National Weather Service.

 

The bitter cold was caused by the mass of air known as the polar vortex drifting south from its usual position over the North Pole.

 

Homes and businesses used record amounts of natural gas to fight the cold, according to financial data provider Refinitiv. Utilities appealed to consumers to conserve energy to avoid power outages.

 

In Detroit, General Motors Co suspended operations at 11 Michigan plants to cut natural gas consumption. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV cancelled a shift on Thursday at two of its plants. Snow and ice created treacherous travel conditions, with 26 road collisions reported within two hours on Thursday in eastern Iowa's Johnson County, emergency communications centre chief Tom Jones told the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

 

For the second day in a row, the intense cold and windy conditions forced U.S. airlines to cancel more than 2,000 flights. Chicago was hardest hit, with O’Hare International Airport experiencing over 700 cancellations, according to the FlightAware tracking site.

 

Heavy snow hitting Chicago off the Great Lakes was set to begin winding down on Thursday night, the weather service said.

 

More than 30 record lows were shattered across the Midwest. Cotton, Minnesota, had the lowest national temperature recorded early on Thursday at minus 56 F (minus 48 C), before the weather warmed up, the weather service reported.

 

Temperatures in the Upper Midwest will rebound to well above zero F (minus 18 C) on Friday, with highs making it into the teens and low 20s F. By Saturday, highs will be in the 30s and even low 40s F, while the central Plains will be in the low 60s F, nearly 20 to 25 degrees above normal, the weather service said.

 

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta, Suzannah Gonzales and Karen Pierog in Chicago, Gina Cherelus in New York and Katharine Jackson in Washington; Writing by Andrew Hay; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Peter Cooney)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-02-01

[Cryingdick]

Cold snaps like this have come and gone may times in my years in the midwest. What changes is the reporting, years ago you didn't;t hear of every single person that perished. The thirty record lows don't smash the hundred year lows I went through. 

 

People have no excuse you see the forecast get basic necessities, I suggest beer and Jaegermeister and stay inside. Keep gloves and a blanket in your car. I lived in a van in weather like this unheated. It is really hard to get yourself into a situation where this will kill you.

[overherebc]

9 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

Cold snaps like this have come and gone may times in my years in the midwest. What changes is the reporting, years ago you didn't;t hear of every single person that perished. The thirty record lows don't smash the hundred year lows I went through. 

 

People have no excuse you see the forecast get basic necessities, I suggest beer and Jaegermeister and stay inside. Keep gloves and a blanket in your car. I lived in a van in weather like this unheated. It is really hard to get yourself into a situation where this will kill you.

Also very easy to get in a situation that can kill you.

One slip, bang your head and if no-one sees you unconscious at those temperatures in the wind you're gone in minutes, not hours.

[khwaibah]

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

The wind chill at the time officers found Belz was minus 51 F (minus 46 C), according to the National Weather Service.

 

Lived and worked for 16 straight months in the Antartica. Saw it down to minus 81 C and that's with NO wind chill. If you can beat that give me a call.????

[Krataiboy]

What was that about global warming?

[peterb17]

6 hours ago, khwaibah said:

 

Lived and worked for 16 straight months in the Antartica. Saw it down to minus 81 C and that's with NO wind chill. If you can beat that give me a call.????

Gosh

 

What were you doing- counting penguins? 

[Redline]

6 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

Cold snaps like this have come and gone may times in my years in the midwest. What changes is the reporting, years ago you didn't;t hear of every single person that perished. The thirty record lows don't smash the hundred year lows I went through. 

 

People have no excuse you see the forecast get basic necessities, I suggest beer and Jaegermeister and stay inside. Keep gloves and a blanket in your car. I lived in a van in weather like this unheated. It is really hard to get yourself into a situation where this will kill you.

Don't forget we used to go rent some video tapes, or discs as well.  Always a great excuse for an extended party!  I grew up near Buffalo NY, so I used to go out for walks in extreme weather because of the beauty

[Redline]

6 hours ago, overherebc said:

Also very easy to get in a situation that can kill you.

One slip, bang your head and if no-one sees you unconscious at those temperatures in the wind you're gone in minutes, not hours.

That is a little paranoid, isn't it?

[Nyezhov]

6 hours ago, khwaibah said:

 

Lived and worked for 16 straight months in the Antartica. Saw it down to minus 81 C and that's with NO wind chill. If you can beat that give me a call.????

-40 ish C for me

[Nyezhov]

2 minutes ago, Redline said:

Don't forget we used to go rent some video tapes, or discs as well.  Always a great excuse for an extended party!  I grew up near Buffalo NY, so I used to go out for walks in extreme weather because of the beauty

Lake Effect baby! The Blizzard of 77. The Blizzard of 85.

[khwaibah]

6 minutes ago, peterb17 said:

Gosh

 

What were you doing- counting penguins? 

Electrical line Forman at McMurdo Station. GPS 77° 50′ 46.76″ S, 166° 40′ 5.65″ E

[Nyezhov]

33 minutes ago, RickBradford said:

Even some native Americans seem to be having trouble with the low temperatures.

 

 

It seems she would like to stop these extreme cold spells by bringing global warming to an end.

 

That will take a special kind of Indian magic ......

Possibly the silliest tweet that has ever been tweeted.

[DM07]

39 minutes ago, RickBradford said:

Even some native Americans seem to be having trouble with the low temperatures.

 

 

It seems she would like to stop these extreme cold spells by bringing global warming to an end.

 

That will take a special kind of Indian magic ......

 

4 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Possibly the silliest tweet that has ever been tweeted.

Since Global Warming/ Climate change does not exist (at least in your reality)...what do you care, what she wants or doesn't want to do!?

 

And yes: ending Global Warming/ Climate Change through drastic measures (fe the New Green Deal) might actually stop extreme cold spells like the current one!

Because (again) Global Warming/ Climate Change is about weather extremes and the change of the CLIMATE!

Not making it cozy on a certain day, because that would be WEATHER and not CLIMATE!

 

Oh...what the hell...I am off to happy hour now and have some pints.

Hopefully they help me to forget for a little while, how many uneducated people are out there! 

[BritManToo]

6 hours ago, overherebc said:

Also very easy to get in a situation that can kill you.

One slip, bang your head and if no-one sees you unconscious at those temperatures in the wind you're gone in minutes, not hours.

How many times have you slipped, banged your head and become unconscious in your life?

In over 60 years I've not managed it yet.

 

Now apply that risk to it happening in the week with sub zero temperatures?

[Jingthing]

How many times have you slipped, banged your head and become unconscious in your life? In over 60 years I've not managed it yet.

 

Now apply that risk to it happening in the week with sub zero temperatures?

 

One time as a kid. I climbed a monkey gym while unconscious and then banged my head too falling from it. Fair weather though.  

I was in Chicago on their last record cold day in the 80s. Nearly got frostbite walking from the L. So I feel their pain. It was actually not forecast so I had been out watching an art film. They weren't able to even heat the theater, it was freezing inside.

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

[overherebc]

56 minutes ago, Redline said:

That is a little paranoid, isn't it?

Nothing paranoid about facts. It's happened in the past and will happen again in the future.

[RickBradford]

42 minutes ago, DM07 said:

Since Global Warming/ Climate change does not exist (at least in your reality)...what do you care, what she wants or doesn't want to do!?

Because if she and her cronies were to achieve real political power, and put this New Green Deal into action, the first move would be to raise taxes (almost double them, according to some commentators), increase energy prices and deliver a "major economic disaster", as Investor's Business Daily puts it. 

 

And that affects people who believe in the dangers of global warming just as much as those who don't.

Quote

 

Oh...what the hell...I am off to happy hour now and have some pints.

Hopefully they help me to forget for a little while, how many uneducated people are out there! 

 

And not only "out there", it seems.

[overherebc]

44 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

How many times have you slipped, banged your head and become unconscious in your life?

In over 60 years I've not managed it yet.

 

Now apply that risk to it happening in the week with sub zero temperatures?

Had a really bad one in the shower and ended up out cold for a while.

Luckily my wife heard me smack my head and got me to hospital where I had a scan done which showed no real danger inside the skull, all the swelling and blood was external. And no, soap was to blame not alcohol before any smart alek jumps in. ????????

[DM07]

3 minutes ago, RickBradford said:

Because if she and her cronies were to achieve real political power, and put this New Green Deal into action, the first move would be to raise taxes (almost double them, according to some commentators), increase energy prices and deliver a "major economic disaster", as Investor's Business Daily puts it. 

 

And that affects people who believe in the dangers of global warming just as much as those who don't.

And not only "out there", it seems.

Yeah...right...conservative, climate deniers talking points, strawmen and nothing but fear mongering!

 

Bye!

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, peterb17 said:

Gosh

 

What were you doing- counting penguins? 

Sure as sh-t wasn't polar bears. ????????

[digger70]

People who live there must know that one can expect cold Snaps And must be prepared for that.

[bristolboy]

1 hour ago, RickBradford said:

Because if she and her cronies were to achieve real political power, and put this New Green Deal into action, the first move would be to raise taxes (almost double them, according to some commentators), increase energy prices and deliver a "major economic disaster", as Investor's Business Daily puts it. 

 

And that affects people who believe in the dangers of global warming just as much as those who don't.

And not only "out there", it seems.

Investor's Business Daily? Really?

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/investors-business-daily/

[overherebc]

I would reckon ( pick a large percentage figure ) of the public have no understanding of global warming. To them it means hotter summers only. The swings in extreme events in the winter season don't compute with them because the expression 'global warming' only conveys the impression that everything that happens during the year will be warmer, summer and winter.

Climate change, as an expression, if used from day one, might, have been more understandable. I only understand a bit of it, hotter summers everywhere means more water vapour sucked into the atmosphere. Water vapour in the air/atmosphere is what carries all the energy, not the air itself so more water vapour means more energy that causes more extreme events and it just keeps building the cycle.

It'way too late to change it and politicians bumping their gums about doesn't mean they are worried about it, it's just for more votes and more money in their pockets and as an aside they are just producing more hot air and nothing else.

[Jingthing]

People who live there must know that one can expect cold Snaps And must be prepared for that.

No! Not like that in Chicago anyway! It's been about 35 years!

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[rudi49jr]

1 hour ago, overherebc said:

I would reckon ( pick a large percentage figure ) of the public have no understanding of global warming. To them it means hotter summers only. The swings in extreme events in the winter season don't compute with them because the expression 'global warming' only conveys the impression that everything that happens during the year will be warmer, summer and winter.

Climate change, as an expression, if used from day one, might, have been more understandable. I only understand a bit of it, hotter summers everywhere means more water vapour sucked into the atmosphere. Water vapour in the air/atmosphere is what carries all the energy, not the air itself so more water vapour means more energy that causes more extreme events and it just keeps building the cycle.

It'way too late to change it and politicians bumping their gums about doesn't mean they are worried about it, it's just for more votes and more money in their pockets and as an aside they are just producing more hot air and nothing else.

Climate change/global warming is about ALL weather extremes getting more extreme: heatwaves getting hotter and longer, cold spells getting colder, storms getting bigger, downpours dumping more rain, droughts getting longer and drier, and so on and so forth.

[overherebc]

8 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Climate change/global warming is about ALL weather extremes getting more extreme: heatwaves getting hotter and longer, cold spells getting colder, storms getting bigger, downpours dumping more rain, droughts getting longer and drier, and so on and so forth.

And ?

All the extreme events all year are becoming more frequent and more extreme but many people can't relate to hotter, longer summers causing more extreme conditions of winter and summer storms.

All they can say is this winter was colder than last so what's all this global warming about?

Edited February 1, 2019 by overherebc

[Catoni]

5 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

What was that about global warming?

In the Spring on 2000, in the British paper the Independant, According to Dr David Viner, (a friend of Michael “Hockey Schtick” Mann) a senior research scientist at the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia, within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event".         "Children just aren't going to know what snow is," he said.

  That was almost 20 years ago now. Getting close to a quarter century. 

     But there’s still lots of snow every year. 

Edited February 1, 2019 by Catoni
Addition

[bristolboy]

3 minutes ago, Catoni said:

In the Spring on 2000, in the British paper the Independant, According to Dr David Viner, (a friend of Michael “Hockey Schtick” Mann) a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit of the University of East Anglia, within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event"."Children just aren't going to know what snow is," he said.

  That was almost 20 years ago now. 

Cherry picking much?

[overherebc]

3 minutes ago, Catoni said:

In the Spring on 2000, in the British paper the Independant, According to Dr David Viner, (a friend of Michael “Hockey Schtick” Mann) a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit of the University of East Anglia, within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event"."Children just aren't going to know what snow is," he said.

  That was almost 20 years ago now. 

Check uk weather today

Some places down to minus 10 or lower and snow in a lot of places

Although parts of Scotland are wet and windy with sheep on the high ground. ????

[Catoni]

18 minutes ago, overherebc said:

And ?

All the extreme events all year are becoming more frequent and more extreme but many people can't relate to hotter, longer summers causing more extreme conditions of winter and summer storms.

All they can say is this winter was colder than last so what's all this global warming about?

Maybe because for the first 25 or 30 years of the leftist Gore Bull Warming Alarmism...they kept telling us we would be getting warmer winters and then snow would be a thing we only would see in history books. Ski resorts would be going broke. 

     When that failed to materialize, they had to change their story.

    Now Gore Bull Warming makes it colder also. 

     If you knew anything about the study of History... there have always been disasters and extreme weather. 

   Ask the Chinese about past massive floods, or the Spanish about lost fleets of ships and destroyed towns in the Caribbean from hurricanes in the 1500’s, 1600’s, and 1700’s and 1800’s. Or the “dust bowl” and heat that hit southern Canada and the U.S. mid-west in the 1930’s. Or the flooded Mississippi River almost 100 years ago...and on and on ad infinitum.