Cold Wave!

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UPDATED AND BUMPED from January 4th

AccuWeather is the source of the map above and they have special coverage here.  Now is the time to take precautions.  Suggestions?  Fill your car with gas (so you don't have to when it is snowing and wind chills are -30°), drip water from your faucets to make freezing pipes less likely, bring pets indoors, check on the elderly. And, while I walked 1/2 mile against a cold north wind to St. Catherine's school every day, this would be a good time to take your children if they don't ride the bus.

UPDATE:  Make sure your cell phone has a full charge.  Cold weather causes most cell phone batteries to lose charge. If you should get stuck, you'll want to have as much charge in your battery as possible.

UPDATE II:  If you do get stuck, place your cell phone in your breast or pants pocket.  The warmth of your body will preserve the battery's charge better than if the phone cools to the temperature inside the car.  If you are stuck and your phone has a GPS readout (some do), be sure the give the GPS location to the authorities.

This is the National Weather Service Warning map as of 3pm Wednesday (note: it will not be updated, please go to AccuWeather for updates). It depicts avalanche warnings in southwest Montana, blizzard warnings in South Dakota with winter conditions extending into the citrus areas of central Florida where a hard freeze warning is in effect.  Please do not take this weather lightly.  Given the cold, snow and wind, it is possible to get stranded with tragic results.

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