3 states declare emergencies as heat, storms bring misery to millions
3 states declare emergencies as heat, storms bring misery to millions
updated 1:46 PM EDT, Sat June 30, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio declare a state of emergency
- Eight people are killed by downed trees and power linesT
- The storms cause power outages to 3.6 million homes, from Indiana to West Virginia
- Many were dealing with the sizzling heat without fans, air-conditioning and refrigeration
Millions of people across
nine states were reeling without power Saturday to deal with
thermostat-popping temperatures after fierce thunderstorms pounded parts
of the Midwest and mid-Atlantic.
At least eight people were killed and three states -- Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio -- declared a state of emergency.
Governors cautioned
people to stay cool as temperatures climbed again and to stay out of the
way of emergency crews working to clear debris and restore power.
"Last night's
thunderstorms caused the broadest non-hurricane related power outage in
Virginia history." said Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.
"This is not a one-day situation; it is a multi-day challenge," he said.
Joseph Rigby, president
of electric company Pepco, said it could be a week before power is fully
back up in some areas of Washington D.C.
"Given the damage, you can understand this is going to take some time," he said. "The wild card is the weather."
The storms raced east Friday from Indiana through Ohio and into West Virginia and the nation's capital.
In all, 3.6 million
homes were without power Saturday morning; nearly 1 million in Virginia
alone and 26,000 as far west as the southern Chicago/Joliet area.
The power outages and debris littering roads led to traffic disruptions and other headaches.
Amtrak service between
Washington and Philadelphia was expected to be restored by some time
Saturday after the storm downed trees and wires across tracks.
In the nation's capital, 19 intersections were without traffic lights Saturday.
The storm's fury was
felt online, as well, when digital clouds were knocked out by real ones.
Power outages knocked out some of Amazon's Cloud services in Virginia,
taking down sites that rely on them, including Netflix, Pinterest and
Instagram.
"Pinterest.com is not
currently available due to server outages related to storms on the east
coast," the company said. "Unfortunately, several high-traffic sites are
being affected. Thank you for your patience - we'll have you pinning
again as soon as possible!"
And they did. The site was up and running Saturday.
But in many ways, the aftermath of the storm was compounded Saturday by a forecast of another sweltering summer day.
One in three Americans were baking Saturday in an area of nearly 600,000 square miles experiencing unusually warm weather.
Temperatures tipped the
100-degree mark in several cities Friday, including St. Louis, Richmond,
Nashville, Washington and Atlanta, the National Weather Service said.
In many places, it felt much hotter than the thermostat reading.
"If you don't have a
good pair of boots, it'll burn clear through to your feet," said roofer
Zach Bruner in Evansville, Indiana, where he said the 103-degree
temperatures were spiking to 130 on the job site.
The bad news? Relief is nowhere in sight as the extreme heat is expected to continue through the weekend.
In storm-affected areas,
many people had no electricity to run fans, air-conditioning and
refrigerators. Even in places where power was not disrupted, people with
no air-conditioning were advised to spend the day in a library or a
cooling center to avoid heat exhaustion.
Atlanta opened five cooling centers in anticipation of another day of triple-digit heat.
Fueled by the high
temperatures, the severe thunderstorms brought with them winds gusting
to 80 miles per hour, the weather service said.
'Only in America': Summer heat
Temps soar across the U.S.
Triple digit highs scorch the U.S.
Saturday morning, the storm's fury was visible with downed trees and debris littering roads.
Catherine Estelle Ford
of Scottsville, Virginia, died when a tree fell on her after she stepped
out of her car and tried to make a phone call, according to the
Albemarle County Police Department.
Five others died in Virginia due to downed trees, according to the governor.
A 71-year-old woman in
Montgomery County, Maryland, was also crushed by a tree that crashed
onto her home, according to Lucille Baur, a public information officer.
In Washington, a man and
his wife were electrocuted when they stepped outside to check on downed
trees and power lines, said police spokesman Araz Alali. The man was
killed and his wife was is in critical condition with burns. She was
expected to survive, Alali said.
The heat was also cause for worry.
The Jackson County
medical examiner in western Missouri was investigating three deaths that
may be related to the heat, according to the Kansas City Health
Department.
The National Weather
Service issued an excessive heat warning through Sunday for eastern
Missouri, including St. Louis, where temperatures are expected to soar
up to 106 this weekend.
"Heat-related illness
such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke are a real threat," the weather
agency said. "This is especially true because of the longevity of this
heat wave and the effects of extreme heat are cumulative."
In Memphis, where highs
hit 105 degrees Friday, firefighters went door to door, checking on
residents. Churches and faith-based institutions were also urged to ask
people to check on their neighbors and relatives.
"Please, if you know of
someone who doesn't have air conditioning or who might be struggling
with the heat, just stop by and see how they are doing," Mayor A.C.
Wharton Jr. said.
The weather service
posted excessive heat warnings for 12 states, from Nebraska to New
Jersey, with watches and advisories posted for at least six other
states.
Baltimore Mayor
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake activated the city's emergency operations to
coordinate storm recovery operations. In West Virginia, Gov. Earl Ray
Tomblin declared a state of emergency for the entire state after the
powerful storms.
And at the Congressional
Country Club in Maryland, play was suspended in the third round of the
AT&T National as trees and tents came crashing down and the PGA
venue was left without power.
The third round was
slated to begin at 7:10 a.m. Saturday, but the course lay eerily empty
as the tournament announced it was closed to all fans in the interest of
safety.
The tournament website simply said: "Stay tuned for details." end quote from:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/30/us/extreme-heat/index.html
At this point I am very grateful to be on the Northern California Coast where the temperatures are in the 60s and 70s Fahrenheit during the day. Our weather here has also been unusual but in a different way. I would say we have had more sunshine in the last 6 months than in the last 5 years. This climate near San Francisco on the coast is normally what Mark Twain was talking about when he said, "The coldest winter I ever spend was a summer in San Francisco". What this means is that what most people would consider a San Francisco Summer actually usually takes place in Spring and Fall here. But normally summers are high and low fog a lot. Normally, the temperature never goes above 80 to 85 in the summer no matter what because the high temperatures usually create fog on the ocean and the hot inland draws the fog both high or low onto coastal lands. So, usually I dread summers here because of all the high and low fog. But not this year because almost every day is sunny or partly sunny ongoing since January and lately it is almost always sunny in the 60s and 70s which is very pleasant to live with ongoing.
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