A bone-chilling arctic cold wave with wind chills and temperatures well below zero shut down schools, put furnaces on overtime and kept most locals inside last week.
Dave Gurney, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in White Lake Township said while temperatures sagged to a minus 9 degrees in the Northern Oakland and Southern Genesee County area, no records were broken. In fact, temperature reached a bitting 16 degrees below zero Feb. 5, 1918, said Gurney.
Making matters worse is the fact that these are actual air temperatures, meaning with wind chill, it actually feels much colder said Gurney.
‘Windchill certainly decreases the time required to get frostbite outside. Exposed skin will get frostbite faster,? said Gurney.
With that in mind, Gurney has some advice for anyone trying to brave the bitter weather.
‘Dress appropriately, warmly and layers are always good. Minimize how much of your skin is exposed,? said Gurney. ‘Even better, stay inside.?
Tom Miller, Brandon superintendent, said the wind chill factor prompted cancellation of classes on Monday and Tuesday.
‘It’s a safety issue,? said Miller. ‘The cold we can deal with, but with wind chills ranging from 15 to 25 below zero, frostbite for students waiting for the bus is a real concern. This weather was very unique last week. In my 23 years as an administrator, we’ve never cancelled classes due to the cold.?
Goodrich School District also cancelled classes on Monday and Tuesday due to the cold weather.
‘Had school been in session I doubt these buses would have started after sitting all weekend,? said Cindy Forsyth, Goodrich Schools transportation supervisor. ‘The block heaters go on at 6 a.m.each morning during the winter. We’ve had two people working on our 27 buses to get them going early Monday morning.?
While area school districts grappled with the dangerously low temperatures, the Community Emergency Response Team responded Monday night, as 15 members of the disaster-preparedness program fanned out to 90 households in the area to check on 120 senior citizens and residents of group homes.
CERT Team Leader Lee Stewart coordinated the effort from Brandon Fire Station #3 at about 6 p.m. after Brandon Fire Chief Bob McArthur deemed the operation necessary to check on the township’s vulnerable populations.
‘When it’s sub-zero temperatures one day, it’s one thing, but when we know we’re getting multiple days (of very low temperatures), we should send the team,? said McArthur.
Stewart explained that CERT members, dressed in distinctive vests or jackets, carrying a BFD issued photo identification badge and equipped with medical supplies, split up into teams of three and using a map showing where seniors and group homes were located, fanned out at about 6:30 p.m. Their purpose was to check on those that live alone or are disabled to make sure they had power, heat and water, and were OK.
The team found a few instances of frozen water pipes in the Sashabaw Meadows Mobile Home Park and contacted maintenance to take of the problems.
‘Not only were (the CERT members) checking on them, but they were letting them know who they can call and what to watch for,? said McArthur. ‘Too many times, the elderly don’t know who to call, and make an attempt to suffer through, when that’s not necessary.?
Stewart said this was CERT’s first time out this winter and if the extreme cold continues, they will be out again.
‘People were quite receptive that someone was checking on them to make sure they’re OK,? he said. ‘In any case of sub-zero weather, ice or a heavy snowstorm, we’ll be out.?
The first CERT class, consisting of about 13 adult citizen volunteers, graduated more than a year ago, with 20 hours of training from the BFD in disaster preparedness; fire safety; disaster medical operations including assessment, treatment, hygiene, triage and the treatment of life-threatening injuries; light search and rescue; team organization; disaster psychology; and terrorism.
CERT is under the training purview of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is funded in part by grants from the Department of Homeland Security. The next training course for CERT will be in the spring. Details: (248) 627-4000.
Jeff Baumgras, manager of Hamilton’s Propane, 300 M-15, Ortonville said the phones just don’t stop during such a cold snap.
‘We service about 6,000 heating customers with propane, and our drivers have been out 12 hours a day since last weekend,? said Baumgras.
‘We sold a record amount of propane for one day of deliveries. When it gets down to about 10 degrees customers really go through the fuel. But prices have been pretty much unchanged over the winter so far, since it’s been pretty mild. This one cold snap won’t send prices higher.?