Preparedness and Communications

Wednesday marked the first day of the three-day pop-up warming center organized by a group of churches in New Kensington and neighboring areas.

Police, fire, road commission and ambulance personnel, though, braved the below-zero temperatures and frostbite conditions for the second consecutive day to keep residents safe Wednesday, Jan. 30.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled across the Midwest on Wednesday. At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, over 600 flights — about half of the flights originating from the airport — were cancelled and over 600 flights into O'Hare were also cancelled, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

'The snow event itself, the high winds, mixed with the extremely cold temperatures are the things we need to be concerned about.'

The record low temperatures spurred dire warnings from meteorologists, widespread closures of schools and businesses and led to a disaster proclamation from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who said a wide variety of state resources will be available to help communities affected by the winter storms and bitter cold weather.

Air temperatures from zero to 20 degrees below, with wind chills of 20 to 55 degrees below, are possible into early Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

The state of emergency authorizes the adjutant general of the Wisconsin National Guard to call up military personnel to active duty if the need arises, and for all state agencies to be available if called on.

Destructive wildfires in Paradise, wine country, Ventura County and other areas have prompted California lawmakers to consider new ways to improve regulatory oversight and hold utilities more accountable for prevention.

This year, with the partial government shutdown preventing non-essential federal personnel from working, key planning activities simply aren’t happening.

The new operations center has 28 workstations set up and ready for use whenever the facility is activated. The workstations include a phone and a port for computer setups.

The National Weather Service and FEMA are still protecting life and limb, but research has stalled, meetings with local officials are being canceled, and some general upkeep is being ignored.

Sponsored by Rep. Neal Dunn, the bipartisan bill specifically corrects maps created by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act.

University officials declined to comment on the lawsuit, but USF Police Chief Chris Daniel said the department's Harris XG-75P radios work well and do not compromise safety.

More than 40 classes are scheduled across North and Central Texas this year, but as the government shutdown continues, more classes could be canceled or postponed, according to the weather service.

'I’m ready to get started,” she said. “I will spend a few weeks getting a feel for the job, evaluating the department and observing.'