There’s a cold snap on it’s way to the US and in some places like Minnesota’s Twin Cities, it’s going to be very, very cold. Along the border to Canada, the temperatures are expected to start dipping Saturday. By the start of the Monday’s work week, it could be the first time in four years that the high won’t get above zero in many places such as St. Paul and Minneapolis. In the Twin Cities, the nighttime temperatures could be -8 degrees or lower with winds of around 15 miles per hour which means the wind chill factor will make it seem Arctic cold outside and feel like it’s around -25 degrees. Those types of conditions are just right for frostbite to occur on exposed skin so anyone living in Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan could be sure to bundle up very well when venturing outside.
The good news is that the cold temperatures will subside by the middle of next week and return to normal for this time of the year. People living in the north where temperatures are going to be frigid are being reminded to prepare for the cold. If traveling, it’s a good idea to have a few extras along such as water, snack foods, matches, extra coats, gloves and socks, blankets and a working cell phone with extra batteries.
Casinos in Nevada’s Lake Tahoe had pipes freeze and break Monday night due to sub-zero temperatures there. Work crews at the casino complexes located on the border between California and Nevada had a lot of cleanup work to do Tuesday after thousands of gallons of water rushed into the buildings. This unfortunate occurrence should serve as a warning to homeowners as frozen pipes can and do happen when temperatures plunge. It’s a good idea to insulate bare pipes and to allow water to trickle from faucets during extreme cold weather. If you are going to be away from home, ask a neighbor to check on your house daily to ensure that no pipes have frozen and burst.
Over the past weekend, there were numerous reports of broken pipes in Las Vegas of all places. The high on Monday in the Sin City was only 37 degrees which was the coldest on record for that date. That city was under a very rare freeze warning for four days last week as temperatures were far below normal. Last week, people in the West were absolutely freezing as temperatures were as much as 30 degrees below normal. Residents of LA were complaining about how “cold” it was there over the weekend when the temperature never got any higher than the low 50s. Those temperatures are unusual for Southern California but Americans living where it typically gets much colder found humor in those gripes as they would welcome those temperatures in the middle of winter.
