Intense cold grips much of USA; Fla. races to save crops
Pastor Dale Morgan
Intense cold grips much of USA; Fla. races to save crops*
From staff and wire reports
A stubborn cold wave locked freezing temperatures in place across the
central and eastern USA Wednesday as far south as Florida, where farmers
worked to salvage millions of dollars' worth of strawberries and other
crops.
Arctic air is expected to hover through the weekend. In a rare turn for
the South, forecasters warned that snow and ice are possible Thursday
from South Carolina to Louisiana and wind chills in the region could get
down to near zero at night.
A new winter storm brewed over the northern Plains on Wednesday,
promising more snow and deep wind chills from the Dakotas across the
upper Midwest.
Freezing temperatures along with heavy snow hit parts of New England and
created treacherous roads. In western New York, a woman and her infant
daughter were killed late Tuesday when their car slid and slammed into a
sport-utility vehicle towing a trailer with two snowmobiles along a
snow-covered roadway.
In Mississippi, authorities said a 68-year-old man died of hypothermia
Tuesday. Two butane gas heaters were turned on inside Billy Joe Fuller's
house but the tank outside was empty, Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton
Cobler said.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour Wednesday issued a declaration of
emergency for the entire state in advance of predicted snow and
subfreezing temperatures.
At least four deaths in Tennessee this week have been tied to the bitter
cold.
In central and south Florida, farmers were trying to salvage citrus and
vegetable crops by spraying them in protective layers of ice and
covering them in plastic. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed an executive
order Wednesday that gave the state's Division of Emergency Management
and other agencies the authority to provide farmers with assistance.
In coastal North Carolina, volunteers were scrambling to save endangered
sea turtles that were stunned by the cold and stranded off the Outer Banks.
Weather in the South this time of year is typically chilly for just a
day or two before temperatures rebound into the 50s. Many homes weren't
built to handle such cold, with uninsulated pipes and heat pumps that
must continuously run to keep things barely comfortable.
The game-time temperature for the Orange Bowl between Georgia Tech and
Iowa was 49 degrees in Miami, which FOX-TV announcers said was a record
for the annual college football game that started in 1935.
Vacationing college students from Ohio, Tara McCourry and Stephen
McFarren, walked hand-in-hand Tuesday along picturesque Pensacola Beach,
some of the few people braving the 27-degree wind chill. The couple
watched pelicans, admired seashells and adjusted their hats and gloves
as they buffered themselves against the wind.
"This is my first time in Florida and Florida is not supposed to be cold
like this," McCourry said.
In Fort Myers, Fla., Shari Zipperer and her two daughters, CharlieLynn
Zipperer, 12, and SammieLynn Zipperer, 11, don't have enough blankets
for the homeless people sleeping outslde in camps throughout the area.
They have been distributing blankets to the homeless for years and the
extended cold snap has depleted all of their resources."They are
freezing," Shari Zipperer said. "I need help."
Charleston, S.C., was expecting subfreezing overnight lows all week. A
dusting of snow fell in western and central Kentucky overnight,
heralding 3 to 5 inches expected in those areas, with some locally
heavier amounts.
The cold weather has left behind record snowfall in some areas. In
northeast Ohio, another 5 to 6 inches of snow fell Tuesday in an area
already covered by 2 feet of snow, according to the National Weather
Service.
Police in Erie County, N.Y., said Stephanie Ali, 22, lost control of her
car Tuesday evening and crossed over into oncoming traffic in Grand
Island, northwest of Buffalo near Niagara Falls. Ali and her 5-month-old
daughter were killed. Investigators said the SUV driver could not have
avoided hitting her.
In Vermont, the bad weather was blamed for several car accidents on
slushy, slick roadways. In Hinesburg, a police officer was investigating
a single-vehicle crash on Tuesday night when his cruiser was struck from
behind by a teenager driving on roads that were covered in ice because
of freezing rain. Minor injuries and vehicle damage were reported.
In South Dakota, the weather forced the closure of Interstate-90 from
Mitchell to Rapid City — a 276 mile stretch. Officials with the state
Departments of Public Safety and Transportation say conditions continue
to deteriorate. Visibility is near zero in some areas, winds are picking
up and blowing snow and heavy drifting make travel impossible in some areas.
Contributing: Gannett reporters contributing to this report were Chris
Joyner, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss.; Don Ruane, The News-Press,
Fort Myers, Fla.; and Jeff Martin, the Argus-Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Associated Press reporters contributing to this report were Melissa
Nelson, Pensacola, Fla.; David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Md.; John Curran
in Montpelier, Vt.; Tamara Lush in Tampa; John Raby in Charleston,
W.Va.; Erin Gartner in Chicago; Dino Hazell in Philadelphia; and
Holbrook Mohr in Jackson, Miss.