COLUMBUS, Ohio – Central Ohio and much of the rest of the nation is spending another day in the icy grip of a deadly arctic cold blast that has closed schools and attractions and driven the mercury in thermometers to record lows.
The National Weather Service says the temperature at 1:00 a.m. at Port Columbus was -7, the lowest on record for Jan. 7. Overnight temperatures dipped as low as 10 degrees below zero in some areas, with wind chills bottoming out at 35 below. A Wind Chill Warning remains in effect today until 5:00 p.m. (see below)
In some cases, the cold has proven deadly. University Hospitals officials in Cleveland say two elderly patients died yesterday of hypothermia after being brought to the hospital from their homes. An elderly woman in Wauseon who tried to walk home after her car got stuck in the snow is dead. Authorities in Athens County have not determined if the cold weather played a role in the death of a woman whose body was found in a trailer park.
Communities are opening warming centers again today to provide refuge from the frigid temperatures. The following Columbus Recreation and Parks facilities are open to the public as warming centers during traditional operating hours:
Dodge, 667 Sullivant Ave.
Gillie, 4625 Morse Centre
Martin Janis, 600 E. 11th Ave
Lazelle Woods, 8140 Sancus
Marion Franklin, 2801 Lockbourne
Whetstone, 3923 N. High Street
The Whitehall Senior Center, 4924 Etna Road, also served as a shelter.
Additional help is being provided through the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging and Life Care Alliance.
As many as six in ten Americans will be shivering in the most dangerously cold weather in decades today. The storm is spreading from the Midwest and South into the Northeast.
The extreme cold temperatures are keeping the doors closed again at many central Ohio schools. The Columbus City Schools and suburban districts decided to close yesterday when it became clear the brutal weather wasn’t going away. Today’s closings also include Ohio State University and the first shift at Honda’s central Ohio factories.
Schools were also closed in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton and the surrounding communities.
Northeast Ohio businesses and attractions are closed today because of the deep freeze. The shutdowns include all Cuyahoga County government offices and courts, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland and Akron Zoos.
Duke Energy says more than 9,000 southwestern Ohio customers lost electricity last night because of heavy use and the frigid air. FirstEnergy is also reporting some power outages affecting more than 16,000 customers this morning, nearly all in Cuyahoga County.