Eastern US reels as ‘Siberian Express’ brings snow, fierce cold

World Today

Another ‘Siberian Express’ weather system is forecast to hit the eastern United States and parts of the south the week of February 23.
The arctic blast has already caused at least 22 deaths linked to hypothermia.

CCTV America’s Roza Kazan reported this story from Chicago.

It seemed like the winter just wouldn’t quit this year.

After a week of blistering cold, the weekend brought another dangerous mix of snow, sleet and ice from Philadelphia to Tennessee, where the governor has declared a state of emergency and heavy ice has taken down trees and power lines.

It’s all thanks to a weather phenomenon dubbed the Siberian Express. An arctic blast from the Northern regions of Russia that’s pushing through the central and eastern parts of the U.S. And even the hardy midwesterners have had enough.

On February 18, NASA released a satellite photo which shows almost two-thirds of the country turned white with snow and ice.

“Looks like the States have been sitting in a freezer” the agency said.

It’s getting a little warmer in Chicago, but on Thursday temperatures hit minus 7 degrees.

Public schools were closed and on February 19, it was the coldest temperature on record in 79 years.

Doctor Gottlieb at the University of Chicago Hospital Burn Unit said the two main risks in this weather are frostbite and hypothermia.

“When the body gets cold to the point that it’s dangerous, and your heart can stop and you can die,” Lawrence J. Gottlieb, University of Chicago, Director Burn and Complex Wound Center said.

And once frostbitten, he said the patient should not get thawed until they get to the hospital.

“Because the worst thing – you go to the house, you warm out and you go out again and get frostbitten again – we can’t fix that damage,” Gottlieb said.

The bitter cold has brought some advantages as well, transforming Niagara Falls into an icy spectacle and drawing a surge in visitors.

There’s no lack for ideas on how to stay warm.

The deep freeze didn’t deter those who braved the ice waters of Lake Michigan to benefit the Illinois Special Olympics.