.... I wonder how long it'll be before we get the stories along the
lines of: " what happens in America, happens here "? They've
certainly had a pasting this past week ...

quote/ex-UPI

CHICAGO, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The frigid weather gripping much
of the United States during the past few days is a prelude of what's
to come, forecasters say.
A series of three storms carrying ice and snow is expected
to march across the country after dumping snow on Seattle and
Portland, Ore., Tom Moore, lead meteorologist at The Weather
Channel, told USA Today in a report published Wednesday.
"This week is going to be a nightmare before it's all over,"
Moore said.
Much of the nation shivered under dangerous cold as Montana
and the upper Plains states absorbed the brunt of Arctic air that
blew through the region Tuesday, CNN said. In normally warm southern
Texas, Brownsville reporting a nippy high of 43 Tuesday.
New England, meanwhile, braced for another round of snow as
some residents still were waiting for power to be restored from last
week's ice storm.
Fatal crashes blamed on icy roads killed four people in
Oklahoma, one in the Louisville area. In California, three young
women were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in a parked car
at the Squaw Valley ski resort near Lake Tahoe.
A Delta Airlines plane diverted to Indianapolis after the
Milwaukee airport was closed skidded off the runway, WTHR-TV
reported. Also in Indiana, a school bus carrying about 50 high
school and middle school students flipped over after a head-on
collision in Frankton, the Anderson Herald-Bulletin reported. One
student told the newspaper that others had been injured, including
one who might have a broken arm.
Up to 5 inches of snow was expected in Chicago, playing
havoc with flights in and out of O'Hare International and Midway
airports.
Growers in Southern California, reeling from heavy snow and
rain, contended with overnight temperatures in the upper 20s,
creating the potential for economic losses for the state's citrus
industry, USA Today said. Joel Nelsen, president of California
Citrus Mutual, said about 85 percent of the 64 million cartons of
fruit produced annually in California's San Joaquin Valley are still
on the tree, he said.
/quote


--
Martin Rowley
West Moors, East Dorset (UK): 17m (56ft) amsl
Lat: 50.82N Long: 01.88W
NGR: SU 082 023