Cold Snap Puts U.S. In Deep Freeze

Across Country, Travelers Stranded, Electricity Out As Wintry Weather Wreaks Havoc

(CBS/ AP)  Students went home for a snow day, stranded travelers waited at airports and drivers slid across icy roads in the second day of a bitter cold wave that blanketed much of the nation Tuesday.

There was little relief in sight. Temperatures were forecast to drop below zero Wednesday in at least 12 states in the Midwest and West. A band of snow and sleet fell Tuesday from Minnesota to New Hampshire.

Dozens of schools closed in Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee, and some school districts in Illinois sent students home early Tuesday. Up to a half-foot of snow had fallen in parts of Kentucky.

"It's pretty treacherous," said Jodi Shacklette, a Kentucky State Police dispatcher in Elizabethtown. "We're working wrecks just left and right."

More than 300 flights were canceled at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and about 50 were canceled at Midway Airport, said Department of Aviation spokesman Gregg Cunningham.

Police in northern Texas had to close some highway overpasses because they were so slippery with ice. In parts of Oklahoma, snow froze overnight and left a glaze of ice on roads, said John Pike, a weather service meteorologist.

Ski resorts near Flagstaff, Ariz., reported 8 to 12 inches of snow Tuesday and strong rain showers covered residents in Phoenix. Flash flood watches were issued for central Arizona through Wednesday night.

In Washington state, as much as 8 inches of snow was expected north of Seattle to the Canadian border and up to 2 feet of new snow was forecast in the Cascades.

Some of the sharpest cold Tuesday was in northern Minnesota, where Hibbing bottomed out at 32 below zero and International Falls dropped to 28 below. In the middle of the state, St. Cloud fell to 24 below, breaking its old record of 21 below set in 1963.

Near Iowa City, Iowa, Interstate 80 completely shut down in both directions when seven tractor trailers and a number of cars collided, reports CBS News.

The weather service posted winter storm warnings Tuesday for parts of the Southwest - where New Mexico had numerous school closings, including those in Albuquerque - and the Ohio Valley.

In Oklahoma where daytime temperatures were mostly in the teens and lower 20s Tuesday, David McElyea complained that the cold made his construction work harder at an unheated home in Oklahoma City.

"All the materials I carry around in my van - buckets of water and drywall - are frozen right now," McElyea said.

Winter weather advisories were in effect across the Midwest and from Texas to New England, where utilities were still repairing power lines snapped by last week's devastating ice storm.

New Hampshire utilities reported roughly about 106,000 homes and businesses still without power Tuesday, down from a peak of 430,000. Central Maine Power said fewer than 7,850 customers were still in the dark and a spokesman said it expected to have power restored Wednesday. About 70,000 customers are still waiting for service in Massachusetts, state officials said.

New Hampshire residents were warned Tuesday that some of them might have to wait until next week for electricity.

"It's fair to say there may be some pockets of customers that would be (without power) beyond the weekend," said Tom Goetz, chairman of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. In places, he said, utility workers must still wait for other crews to clear fallen limbs and other debris before they can reach outages.

Even Southern California was warned of temperatures falling into the mid-30s by late Wednesday.

The cold wave and storms that accompanied had been blamed for at least 20 deaths, including 11 in traffic accidents.

[impeach_o]

You know, she''''s right! Last winter it was cold, I prayed, and it was warm by May! It was a miracle!


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Posted by airboatboy1 at 06:00 PM : Dec 17, 2008
+ report abuse

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al gore told you that this winter will the hottest..and you gave him a noble prize and bl0w job..the lady is a looney your right but a little prayer will not hurt..you might learn a few things like HUMILITY

[impeach_o]

And you Mrs Premise are an oargasum that unfortunately came to fruition!


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Posted by FarRemoved at 02:38 PM : Dec 17, 2008
+ report abuse

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since you and science cannot do anything about what is happening now..A LITTLE FAITH AND A LITTLE PRAYER will not kill you or make your life any miserable

[impeach_o]

I wonder what Al Gore thinks everything he turns on the heater....

[barbaram99]

I am in Seattle. Had the TV on due to the weather. It is bad. I have not seen it like this and I been heen here since 99. It is so bad. I won''t leave the apt as it is hard to walk in it. It is 28 out. It snowed out. It don''t here. The snow is pretty on the trees. I told a friend to stay in.

[valhalla14]

Global Warming is a myth. Its a "Theory" created by Gore to pad his and his friends wallets. Its amazing how many people fell for this scam, when 95% of world scientist claims its not due to humans, and only a "handful" according to Snore support it

[johncarl54]

i am in central texas. it will be 70+ degs here today, something is wrong here. and i will be playing golf saturday and the temps are predicted near 80. i do not understand it. global warming?

[airboatboy1]

Cold fronts are caused by sin and the only way to make them go away is through prayer.

Posted by mrs_premise at 09:23 AM : Dec 17, 2008


You know, she''s right! Last winter it was cold, I prayed, and it was warm by May! It was a miracle!

[specialty8]

I think Gore should turn the heat up in his cottage and crank the heat in those swimming pools of his.That would warm us up some.Gore says for us commons to think green.Wonder what green he is thinking about, the one with George on it?

[sioux4life1]

Awww don''t pick on poor mrs_premise shes low on her meds and hasn''t seen her shrink in a few

[jankebenz]

Does it really matter?
Posted by Displeased at 02:42 PM : Dec 17, 2008

It does when we''re being duped into being taxed or spending thousands of dollars for a fictitious pending calamity. Sure we should be good stewards of our enviroment, but not to the point of obsession.

[displeased]

Is it possible that they''''re wrong?
Posted by jankebenz

Does it really matter? Regardless of the causes of climate change, we should still seek renewable energy sources, clean our air and water, improve fuel efficiency in our vehicles and become energy independent. Why is that such a bad thing?

[farremoved]

Cold fronts are caused by sin and the only way to make them go away is through prayer.

Posted by mrs_premise

And you Mrs Premise are an oargasum that unfortunately came to fruition!

[jankebenz]

This just can''t be true! A record setting cold snap across north america?,and it not yet winter? How ''s that possible when Al Gore, most scientists ,ecologists, and weather experts have been preaching global warming for years now. Is it possible that they''re wrong?

[observer2020]

It''s winter....Duh!

[onlythereal-]

I guess its all a joke unless it is happening to you. mrs_premise is closer to the truth than the rest of you. knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, %u201CWhere is the promise of His coming?

[marshmy]

Cold fronts are caused by sin and the only way to make them go away is through prayer.


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Posted by mrs_premise at 09:23 AM : Dec 17, 2008

Seems to me that mrs_premise''s comments are enough to cast serious doubt on the concept of Intelligent
Design.

[setumstrt9]

Stupid ol Global Warming!!!!!!!!!

[snoweer]

Thank you Mrs. Falwell.

[terribayless-2009]

We should just call you Mrs Instigator! :)