Monday, February 16, 2015
Staff/wire report
How cold was it Sunday in the Mahoning Valley?
Enough to set two records for Feb. 15.
The minus 7 recorded Sunday morning and the 2-degree reading later in the day were the coldest and the lowest high temperatures for the date since 1897, when climate statistics began to be kept, said Brian Mitchell, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland.
There is a chance that today will see another record-low temperature, but it’s expected to climb to 10 to 15 degrees during the day, Mitchell said.
He said there is a chance of snow showers in the area today through Thursday, with a slight warm-up Tuesday and another shot of cold air Wednesday and Thursday.
The bitter cold continued to have an impact on the Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley. The emergency shelter at 962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Youngstown was filled to capacity Sunday night with single men and some families with children.
A spokesman said the Rescue Mission normally has room for 102 in the dorm room for men, but an additional 20 cots were set up and nearly filled by 10:30 p.m., with more people likely to come in.
“We have room for another five or six men,” the spokesman said.
The Rescue Mission shelter is equipped to separately house single men, families, women with children, and single men with children.
It was a little different story at the Warren Family Mission in Warren.
A spokesman said the Family Mission has capacity for about 30 men at its facility at 1228 W. Market St. and an additional 20 at its facility at 361 Elm Road N.E.
But as of 10:30 p.m. Sunday, some 22 had sought shelter.
“We could have more come in anytime through the night,” the spokesman said.
In Boston, meanwhile, another weekend, another major snowstorm.
The latest system to sweep through the Valley and the Northeast brought another foot to the city — on top of 6 feet that has fallen over the last month — and tested New Englanders who say the winter is beginning to feel like one without end.
Even after the storm, forecasters warned of exceptionally cold air, perhaps the coldest in years. Strong winds that were expected to continue into today reduced visibility, created drifts and complicated an ongoing cleanup effort. Forecasters were talking about another storm on the horizon for midweek.
“It’s historic. It’s biblical,” attorney Frank Libby said he walked down a deserted street in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. “I think we’re in uncharted territory. People just don’t know how to deal with the logistics of it.”
He had one message for Mother Nature: “Give us a break.”