Old Man Winter Has His Icy Grip on the Midwest
December 15, 2010
America’s Midwest is in an icy grip of harsh winter weather and a ferocious cold snap as storms are moving through and creating chaos – closing airports and highways. The Minneapolis Metrodome’s inflatable roof collapsed this past weekend in spite of worker’s attempts to clear the nearly 17 inches of wet, heavy snow from the structure. It is unknown how long it will take for the damage to be fixed and the stadium made safe and ready for use once again. The snow storm was so intense that state officials in Minnesota yanked their snow plows off the roads, calling it a futile fight that could not be won.
Chicago also was hit hard as the winter storm and brutal winds led to over 2,000 flights being canceled. Several buildings in downtown Chicago suffered flooding and roof damage as well as they could not hold the weight of the snow. Bone chilling cold swept across the Great Plains and Midwest over the weekend and early this week, shutting down schools and wreaking havoc with travel plans as temperatures plunged to sub-freezing levels as far south as Florida.
In Atlanta, Georgia, the blast of arctic air hitting the metro area caused frozen pipes to burst all across the metropolitan region on Tuesday. Plumbers say that homeowners are neglecting to make sure that their heating systems are in good shape. Malfunctioning blowers are one of the main causes of fault in older furnaces which have to work extra hard to heat a house in cold temperatures. Residents are being urged to unhook garden hoses from their homes there to prevent the water backing up, which could cause pipes leading into homes to freeze and burst.
Florida homeowners, not used to below freezing temperatures have an increased chance of fires starting in their homes. In Orange County, two residents can attest to that as fire officials responded to several calls of home fires, two of which was caused by space heaters being placed too close to curtains. Floridians are being urged to leave at least three feet of empty space around space heaters being used. They are also being advised to turn off space heaters when leaving a room or when sleeping.
Another problem with space heaters is the fact that often people plug them into extension cords and then into power-strips which is a big no-no. Power strips should only be plugged directly into wall outlets. Florida fire officials say that they have recently inspected several residences wherein multiple items were connected to one, single power source. Television news reports have told people in Florida to avoid making these mistakes and to be sure that the power strips and extension cords they buy are “UL approved”.
