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A2 UP FRONT
Monday 19 deceMber 2022

Arctic air will blast much of U.S. just before Christmas

By Thursday night, temper- across the eastern two- of the Eastern U.S. by Friday
atures will plunge as low as thirds of the country in the and into the weekend.”
13 degrees (minus 10.6 Cel- days before Christmas, The arctic air was already
sius) in Jackson, Mississippi; according to the latest pouring into Montana Sun-
and around 5 degrees (mi- forecasts from the federal day night, but that wasn’t
nus 15 Celsius) in Nashville, Weather Prediction Center deterring residents from ice
Tennessee, the National in College Park, Maryland. fishing and hunting coy-
Weather Service predicts. The center warned of a otes.
For much of the U.S., the “massive expanse of frig- Ice fishing will continue
winter weather will get id temperatures from the through the cold blast,
worse before it gets better. Northern Rockies/North- since the temperatures
The coming week has the ern Plains to the Midwest won’t scare away anglers
potential for “the coldest through the middle of the there — “not the hard-core
air of the season” as the week, and then reaching ones anyway,” said Ja-
strong artic front marches the Gulf Coast and much son Mundel, who runs the
A man is covered in snow on Fenn Street in Pittsfield, Mass,
Friday, Dec. 16, 2022.
Associated Press
Ripp’n Lipps Guide Service of downtown Atlanta, he
in northeastern Montana. said. “She died within 100
Mundel said it was 4 de- feet of three heated build-
grees (minus 15.6 Celsius) ings,” Chidi said.
there Sunday night, and He said people without
a coyote contest was still housing who die in freez-
going on in a nearby com- ing weather often do so
munity. “Those guys are just because they are battling
out in the elements, just alcohol, drugs or severe
bundled up,” he said. mental illness, or they do
In Atlanta, where tempera- not trust others and find
tures are set to drop be- themselves on the streets
low freezing early Monday rather than a shelter with
morning, forecasters warn other people.
of even colder air by late Homeless people in south-
in the week, according to ern states are also vulner-
the National Weather Ser- able to its weather patterns
vice office in Peachtree that make it comfortable
City, Georgia. The low Fri- one week, but suddenly
day night in Atlanta will be freezing the next.
around 13 degrees (minus “A main factor isn’t the
10.6 Celsius) with the high temperature itself,” Chidi
temperature Saturday still said. “It’s the speed with
below the freezing mark at which the temperature
around 29 degrees (minus drops.”
1.7 Celsius), the Weather Florida will not have a white
Service projects. Christmas, but forecasters
Freezing temperatures can are expecting that week-
take lives in an instant — a end to be unusually cold
heartbreaking reality that throughout the state.
Atlanta homeless advo- Northern Florida cities such
cate George Chidi knows as Jacksonville, Tallahassee
firsthand. and Pensacola have pre-
He went to check on a dicted lows in the 20s (mi-
woman with severe mental nus 3 Celsius) on Christmas
health issues in downtown Eve, with highs of about 40
Atlanta earlier this year, (4 Celsius).
and found she had died of In the Northeast, util-
suspected hypothermia just ity companies brought in
hours earlier. Her body was extra workers from other
found outside the Grey- states but were hampered
hound bus station, which is by slick roads and danger-
open 24 hours in the heart ous conditions.q