What's Happening?


 




Trapped


 

 

 

“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” 

Job 38:22,23 

     He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.   He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?”

Psalms  147:16,17

Perilous Times and Climate Change

Storm in US midwest blamed for 15 deaths*

Tom Coyne
December 14, 2010 - 2:29PM

AFP

Authorities rescued more than 100 motorists in the snow-covered midwestern US state of Indiana who were trapped in their cars in biting temperatures, as the storm was blamed for at least 15 deaths.

LaPorte County sheriff's Deputy Andy Hynek said officials don't know exactly how many people were stranded, but some had been stuck for as long as 12 hours.

The heavy lake effect snow in Indiana was part of a slow-moving storm that has been crawling across the central United States since Friday night. The storm dumped nearly 0.6 metres of snow before it stretched further east, with snow in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

The upper midwest also has been gripped by bone-chilling cold as arctic air swept in behind the storm. Wind chills were well below freezing in many places, and schools in Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and other states shut down because of the snow and cold.

The -11C temperature didn't stop hundreds of football fans from lining up hours before free tickets to Monday night's game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants became available at 9am local time at Ford Field. The game was moved to Detroit after the Minneapolis Metrodome's inflated roof collapsed on Sunday under the weight of heavy snow.

Indiana was hardest hit on Monday, with up to 40cm of lake effect snow in some areas. Lake effect snow develops when cold air rushes over the warmer water in the Great Lakes.

More than 100 vehicles were trapped by snow drifts on Monday on a section of highway in the Valparaiso area. Police said they were found warm and safe in their vehicles.

Crews were using front-end loaders to remove drifts on US 30, where other drivers were trapped by overnight, state highway department spokesman Jim Pinkerton said. Sections of two highways were closed, and with winds of up to 48km/ph, LaPorte and Porter counties issued emergency orders telling drivers to stay off county roads as well.

"As soon as the ploughs go through an area, the wind is blowing fresh snow right back into the roads," Pinkerton said. "It is just really difficult for us to keep up against that wind and snow."

At least 15 deaths in four states have been attributed to the storm. Eight people died in traffic accidents, and a 79-year-old man snow-blowing the end of his driveway in western Wisconsin was killed when a plough truck backed into him. Four men in Michigan and one in Minnesota died after shovelling or blowing snow, and Kenneth Swanson, 58, of rural Wisconsin, died when a metal shed collapsed from the heavy snow, pinning him under debris and about a metre of snow.