Midwest Cities Scramble to Keep Homeless from Dangerous Cold

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Winter's sharpest bite in years moved past painful into life-threatening territory Tuesday, prompting officials throughout the Midwest to take extraordinary measures to protect the homeless and other vulnerable people from the bitter cold, including turning some city buses into mobile warming shelters in Chicago. Temperatures plunged as low as minus 26 (negative 32 degrees Celsius) in North Dakota with wind chills as low as minus 62 (negative 52 degrees Celsius) in Minnesota. It was nearly that cold in Wisconsin and Illinois. Governors in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan declared emergencies as the worst of the cold threatened on Wednesday. JEMS: Identifying and Managing Accidental Hypothermia Recognize the Subtle Signs of Hypothermia Trauma’s Lethal Triad of Hypothermia, Acidosis & Coagulopathy Create a Deadly Cycle for Trauma Patients  The U.S. Postal Service said it will not deliver mail in parts of the Midwest Wednesday because of the cold. The bitter cold is the result of a split in the polar vortex that allowed temperatures to plunge much further south in North America than normal. The National Weather Service forecast for Wednesday night called for temperatures in Chicago as low as minus 28 (negative 33 degrees Celsius), with wind chills to minus 50 (negative 46 degrees Celsius). Detroit's outlook was for Wednesday overnight lows around minus 15 (negative 26 degrees Celsius), with wind chills dropping to minus 40 (negative 40 degrees ...
Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: News Patient Care Source Type: news