Wild Weather

[Shammu]

Yep, me too. We were getting a lot if ice, snow and real cold temps for about 10 years straight.

After that all ended, they said we were in global warming cause it heated up.

Go figure..................... 

[Shammu]

Ice Storm Coats Much of Nation's Middle
Dec 9 07:45 PM US/Eastern
By CHERYL WITTENAUER
Associated Press Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) - An ice storm slickened roads and sidewalks, grounded flights, and cut power to tens of thousands Sunday in a swath from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes as even colder weather threatened.

The wintry weather was expected to continue through midweek, and ice storm warnings stretched from Texas to Pennsylvania.

"Tomorrow may be even more of a dilemma than today because we're going to get even a little bit more colder," said John Pike, a meteorologist in the Weather Service's office in Norman, Okla.

Five traffic deaths were blamed on icy roads in Oklahoma.

More than 130,000 customers lost power in Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois and Kansas, utilities reported.

Some communities in Missouri reported ice as thick as three-quarters of an inch, the National Weather Service said.

"The rural roads are pretty rough, the main highways are pretty clear, and the overpasses are slick," said John Christiansen, emergency management director in Missouri's St. Clair County.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.

At Kansas City International Airport, about two dozen flights were canceled by midafternoon Sunday, and more than a dozen flights were called off at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

Places of worship across the region called off services because of the slippery roads. Roads in all but the southeastern corner of Oklahoma were considered slick and hazardous, the state Department of Transportation said.

Chicago officials used the city's emergency phone system to deliver recorded warnings to about 2,700 elderly residents that sidewalks were icy and slippery.

Ice Storm Coats Much of Nation's Middle

[Soldier4Christ]

Ice storm coats nation's middle; 6 dead

An ice storm slickened roads and sidewalks, grounded hundreds of flights, and cut power to tens of thousands Sunday in a swath from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes as even colder weather threatened.

The wintry weather was expected to continue through midweek, and ice storm warnings stretched from Texas to Pennsylvania.

"Tomorrow may be even more of a dilemma than today because we're going to get even a little bit more colder," said John Pike, a meteorologist in the Weather Service's office in Norman, Okla.

Six traffic deaths were blamed on icy roads in Oklahoma. Roads along much of the state were considered slick and hazardous by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, with two sections of Interstate 40 being closed temporarily.

More than 130,000 customers lost power in Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois and Kansas, utilities reported.

Some communities in Missouri reported ice as thick as three-quarters of an inch, the National Weather Service said.

"The rural roads are pretty rough, the main highways are pretty clear, and the overpasses are slick," said John Christiansen, emergency management director in Missouri's St. Clair County.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.

Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, one of the nation's busiest, canceled more than 400 flights. The airports in Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis also canceled several flights.

Places of worship across the region called off services because of the slippery roads. Roads in all but the southeastern corner of Oklahoma were considered slick and hazardous, the state Department of Transportation said.

Chicago officials used the city's emergency phone system to deliver recorded warnings to about 2,700 elderly residents that sidewalks were icy and slippery.

[Soldier4Christ]

More of the same is expected today through tomorrow. Of course it's all the fault of global warming.   

[Shammu]

More of the same is expected today through tomorrow. Of course it's all the fault of global warming.   

No, no, no, it's the start of an "Ice Age."

[Soldier4Christ]

No, no, no, it's the start of an "Ice Age."

.....  that is caused by global warming.   

[Shammu]

Atlantic SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENT

000
WONT41 KNHC 101549
DSAAT
SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENT
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
1100 AM EST MON DEC 10 2007

SATELLITE IMAGES AND SURFACE REPORTS INDICATE THAT A CLOSED SURFACE
CIRCULATION HAS DEVELOPED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE BROAD AREA OF LOW
PRESSURE NOW CENTERED ABOUT 200 MILES EAST OF PUERTO RICO. SHOWER
ACTIVITY WITH THE LOW REMAINS DISORGANIZED...HOWEVER...WITH THE
STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS LOCATED A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES NORTH AND
NORTHEAST OF THE CENTER.  WHILE A TROPICAL OR SUBTROPICAL CYCLONE
COULD STILL FORM DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...UPPER-LEVEL WINDS ARE
EXPECTED TO BECOME GRADUALLY LESS FAVORABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT OVER
THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE LOW DEVELOPS
FURTHER...IT COULD PRODUCE HEAVY SQUALLS AND GUSTY WINDS OF NEAR
GALE FORCE ACROSS THE VIRGIN ISLANDS AND PUERTO RICO LATER TODAY
AND TONIGHT AS IT MOVES WESTWARD OR WEST-SOUTHWESTWARD AT ABOUT 20
MPH.  HEAVY RAINS OVER PUERTO RICO AND HISPANIOLA COULD CAUSE
LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES...AND INTERESTS IN
THESE AREAS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM. 

FURTHER SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS
NECESSARY.  FOR INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...CONSULT
STATEMENTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE. 

$$
FORECASTER FRANKLIN

Atlantic SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENT
~~~~~~~~~~

This kind of thing is very rare this late in the season. Sometimes God uses nature to send a message. It will be interesting to watch, hurricane season officially ended Nov 30th.

[Soldier4Christ]

Ice storm results in 11 traffic deaths 
Oklahoma especially hard hit, with quarter-million customers blacked out

Commuters contended with treacherous roads Monday from the southern Plains to the Northeast as a storm spread a coating of ice and freezing rain linked to at least 11 deaths.

Thousands of people had no electricity and airline flights were canceled Monday in Oklahoma. During the weekend, hundreds of flights had been grounded because of the weather.

Ice storm warnings, freezing rain advisories, winter storm watches and winter weather advisories extended along a cold front from Texas to New Hampshire. The wintry weather was expected to continue through midweek.

Oklahoma was especially hard hit, with a quarter-million customers blacked out Monday morning and schools closed across the state. The Highway Patrol discouraged travel for the whole state.

Ice accumulations already a half-inch thick were reported Sunday in parts of Oklahoma and could build up to as much as an inch thick in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, the weather service said.

Most morning flights were canceled at Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport, where two of the three runways were iced over.

Oklahoma utilities said about 300,000 homes and businesses were blacked out Monday, mostly in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas.

There was no way to estimate when power might be restored, said Oklahoma Gas & Electric spokesman Gil Broyles. "It's a changing situation, almost minute by minute," he said.

The Oklahoma City suburb of Jones, a town of 2,500 people, had very low water pressure because there was no electricity to run well pumps, and firefighters said an early morning fire destroyed most of the local high school.

Blackouts affecting thousands of customers also were reported Sunday in parts of Missouri, Illinois and Kansas.

In the Northeast on Monday, many schools across upstate New York were closed or started late because of icy roads. Last Monday, a mixture of snow, rain and sleet closed schools across a large area of upstate New York state.

On ice-covered Interstate 40 west of Okemah, Okla., four people died in "one huge cluster of an accident" that involved 11 vehicles, including a tractor-trailer rig, said Highway Patrol Trooper Betsey Randolph. All 11 vehicles burned, she said.

Seven other people also died on icy Oklahoma roads.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency Sunday and activated the National Guard to aid communities affected by the storm.

In Chicago, poor weather and low visibility forced the cancellation of more than 400 flights Sunday at O'Hare International Airport, authorities said. About two dozen flights were canceled at Kansas City International Airport, and 13 were canceled at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis.

A section of Interstate 70 in Missouri's Montgomery County was closed Sunday when a large power line fell across the highway. A nursing home in the county was without power, and its generator didn't work.

[Shammu]

Midwest plastered by more deadly ice

By JAMES BELTRAN, Associated Press Writer 33 minutes ago

DES MOINES, Iowa - Schools closed for thousands of youngsters, Iowa's biggest airport shut down and thick layers of ice brought down more power lines Tuesday as a major ice storm glazed the nation's midsection.

At least 22 deaths had been blamed on the storm system since the waves of sleet and freezing rain started during the weekend. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses had no electricity.

Officials in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma had declared states of emergency. President Bush declared an emergency in Oklahoma on Tuesday, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts.

Iowa's largest school district closed for the day in Des Moines, telling its nearly 31,000 students to stay home, and kids across most of Oklahoma and in the Kansas City, Mo., area stayed home for a second day.

Schools also were closed in parts of Wisconsin, including Milwaukee Public Schools with 85,000 students. "We thought about our kids on foot," said Milwaukee schools spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin. Some drivers couldn't even get to their buses, she said.

About an inch of ice was expected Tuesday over parts of Iowa, followed by up to 5 inches of sleet and snow. "It's a pretty good ice-maker," said Frank Boksa, a National Weather Service forecaster.

Ice as much as an inch thick had accumulated on trees, power lines, streets and car windshields Monday in parts of Oklahoma and Missouri, with thinner layers elsewhere.

Nearly 600,000 Oklahoma homes and businesses still had no electricity Tuesday, most of them since Monday when power lines began snapping under the weight of ice and falling branches — the biggest power outage in state history. Utilities in Missouri reported more than 100,000 homes and business without power and Kansas utilities said probably more than 70,000 were blacked out Tuesday, with some in the dark since Sunday.

"This is a big one. We've got a massive situation here and it's probably going to be a week to 10 days before we get power on to everybody," said Ed Bettinger, a spokesman for Public Service Company of Oklahoma. "It looks like a war zone."

Iowa's two major utilities reported over 17,000 customers without power Tuesday.

The storm even put a crimp on presidential campaigning, with Republican Mike Huckabee canceling stops in western Iowa and former President Bill Clinton calling off appearances in eastern Iowa on behalf of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Des Moines International Airport closed because of ice late Monday and could be closed most of Tuesday, said spokesman Roy Criss. The airport, which also was shut down by winter weather two weeks ago, has 138 arrivals and departures per day, he said.

"This rain keeps refreezing. We put chemicals down, it melts and the freezes again. We can't stay ahead of it," Criss said. "This is not fun."

Many travelers also were grounded at Chicago, where about 250 flights were canceled Tuesday morning at O'Hare International Airport and departure delays averaging 15 to 30 minutes, said Karen Pride of the city's Department of Aviation.

Kansas City International Airport in Missouri canceled more than 90 flights Tuesday morning, but spokesman Joe McBride said that was probably due to problems at other airports.

Southeastern Nebraska also had power outages Tuesday and some flights in and out of Omaha's Eppley Airfield were canceled.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers sent 50 generators and three truckloads of bottled water from Texas to distribute to blacked-out areas of Oklahoma.

At least 22 deaths — most of them in traffic accidents — had been blamed on the ice and cold since the weekend, including 15 in Oklahoma, four in Kansas, and three in Missouri.

Midwest plastered by more deadly ice
~~~~~~~~~

I guess Al Gore decided to finally shut his mouth.

[Shammu]

Storm threatens flooding, mudslides in Caribbean
11 Dec 2007 16:50:09 GMT
Source: Reuters

MIAMI, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Subtropical Storm Olga threatened the northern Caribbean islands with heavy rain, flash flooding and mudslides on Tuesday.

Olga was a relatively weak storm with top sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted strong winds in the upper atmosphere would start to tug it apart on Wednesday.

They said Olga's greatest threat was of torrential rains.

"These rains have already produced life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in Puerto Rico," the forecasters said in an advisory.

Tropical storm warnings and watches were issued for parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, and were expected later in the Turks and Caicos islands and the southeastern Bahamas.

At 10 a.m. EST, (1500 GMT) the storm's center was about 130 miles (200 km) east-southeast of the Dominican Republic capital of Santo Domingo.

Olga was moving almost due west near 15 mph (25 kph) on a path that would keep it very near the southern coast of the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

The storm could dump up to 10 inches (25 cm) of rain on isolated parts of Hispaniola, while Puerto Rico could get another 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm), bringing its total to 12 inches (30 cm) in some areas, the forecasters said.

Most forecasting models showed the storm moving westward across the Caribbean toward Central America for the rest of the week, keeping it well away from U.S. oil and gas production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

One model had it crossing western Cuba into the southern Gulf of Mexico and then veering across the southern tip of Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean.

Olga was a subtropical storm, with a cooler core than a tropical storm or hurricane, and formed over the Virgin Islands on Monday, 10 days after the official end of the six-month Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season.

Tropical storms draw strength from warm seas, so December storms are unusual. Olga was the 17th named storm to form in the region in the month of December since record keeping began in 1851, the hurricane center forecasters said.

Storm threatens flooding, mudslides in Caribbean

[Soldier4Christ]

Deadly winter storm hits Northeast
Crews in Plains, Midwest work to restore power to hundreds of thousands left in dark

A deadly winter storm brought snow and sleet to the Northeast on Thursday, while crews in the Plains and Midwest worked to restore power to hundreds of thousands of people left in the dark in its ice-coated wake.

Some parts of the Northeast could receive up to a foot of snow, forecasters said. Schools in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced closures, in some cases before flakes even began to fall.

Dozens of traffic accidents were reported on Connecticut roads.

"We're having, I won't say a crisis, but we have an abundance of crashes literally all across the state on main and secondary roads," said Lt. J. Paul Vance. "It really is pretty dangerous, so we would strongly advise people to stay off the roads."

Some businesses sent their workers home early, leading to a steady stream of customers at Sebby Randazzo's liquor store in Columbia.

"Before the snow starts, and for the first hour or so, people want to load up for their snow parties," Randazzo said. "They want to gather around the fire with a glass of wine, or have a beer with their buddies, or maybe after they shovel snow for a while they come in and have a beverage."

Molly Bergstrom, of Canastota, N.Y., stuffed grocery bags in the back of her car and said she had gone shopping early to beat the worst of the weather.

"I hate driving in the snow. They said it was going to get worse later so I thought I could finish up some shopping and get back home before it did. I still have a couple more stops so I guess that plan is shot," Bergstrom said, the snow starting to pile up.

The storm was blamed for 35 deaths, mostly in traffic accidents, as it moved through the middle of the country. In Oklahoma, about 333,000 homes and businesses still were without power Thursday, officials said. In Missouri, about 35,000 customers remained in the dark, said Al Butkus, spokesman for utility Aquila Inc.

Northeast airports were bracing for travel problems. By midday, more than 100 flights had been canceled at Newark's airport in New Jersey. But the airport was only seeing delays of about 15 minutes, said Alan Hicks, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

At Boston's Logan International Airport, air traffic was normal Thursday morning, but the airport expected airlines to cancel up to half of the afternoon's scheduled flights because of snow.

"But unless it snows 2 inches an hour, or we have whiteout conditions, the airport should stay open maybe with just one runway operating, but open," airport spokesman Phil Orlandella said.

At New York's airports, some airlines were allowing passengers to reschedule their flights free of charge. At Connecticut's largest airport, near Hartford, a dozen flights had been canceled as of 9 a.m., said John Wallace, an airport spokesman.

In Yorktown, N.Y., Mitchell Hardware sold more than 25 shovels Wednesday nearly twice as many as it usually sells in a week, said assistant manager Mike Malone.

Sunshine and milder temperatures on Thursday should help cleanup efforts in much of the Plains, but another winter storm approaching from the west could dump heavy snow on parts of Oklahoma on Friday.

More than two dozen shelters were set up at churches and community centers across the Oklahoma for people needing a warm place to stay. Exhibit halls at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City were turned into a shelter Wednesday capable of housing more than 700 people.

Wayne Wooldridge lasted only one cold, dark night in the frigid house he volunteered to watch for his son, who is deployed overseas for the U.S. Air Force.

"I can get bundled up pretty warm in the house, but there was no light at night," Wooldridge, 68, said Wednesday at a shelter. "We get spoiled."

Industrial-size generators, bottled water, plastic sheeting to cover 2,000 damaged roofs, and blankets arrived Wednesday via the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was authorized by President Bush's emergency disaster declaration to help all 77 Oklahoma counties clean up.

At the John 3:16 Mission in Tulsa, a lottery is held each day to determine who gets a bed, and the facility is scrambling every bed, mattress and bench it has to accommodate people, said The Rev. Steve Whitaker, executive director at the mission.

"It's gut-wrenching to turn those guys away," he said.

[Shammu]

A large, powerful winter storm

A large, powerful winter storm was moving from the Ohio Valley into the Northeast on Sunday and was expected to bring up to 2 feet of snow to New England, while another strong storm was expected to blow into the Northwest coast.

Winter weather advisories were in effect in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley and the entire New England region was under a winter storm warning, with up to two feet of snow expected in parts. Winds of up to 30 mph were also possible in some areas, creating blizzard conditions.

In southern New England, overnight snow was expected to change to freezing rain.

Pennsylvania was expected to receive 2 to 5 inches of snow.

The storm system was expected to bring significant rain to the Southeast.

Separately, a strong storm was expected to slam into the Northwest coast, bringing rain and snow to Washington and Oregon. Rain was expected in northern California.

Temperatures in the Northeast were expected to rise only into the 30s, while the Southeast Coast was expected to be in the 60s and 70s.

The Great Lakes and Upper Midwest were expected to rise into the 10s and 20s, while the Rockies were expected to see similar temperatures. The Northwest was expected to rise into the 30s and 40s.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Saturday ranged from a low of minus 27 degrees at Littlefork, Minn., to a high of 86 degrees at Melbourne, Fla.

A large, powerful winter storm

[Soldier4Christ]

Killer storm pummels Northeast
'I don't mind an inch or 2, but this is too much'

A pre-winter storm dumped up to a foot of snow on parts of Michigan, causing crashes that claimed at least two lives and canceling Monday's classes for tens of thousands of children.

At least 150 school districts, including the state's largest in Detroit, announced the cancellation of classes because of the storm.

By late Sunday, AAA Michigan had helped more than 3,000 motorists.
Story continues below ↓advertisement

The fatal crashes happened on U.S. 23 in Monroe County and Interstate 94 in Berrien County.

Motorists slid off roads as a wind-blown brew of snow, sleet and freezing rain cut visibility and iced over highways from the Great Lakes to New England.

The National Weather Service posted winter storm warnings for Monday from Michigan and Indiana all the way to Maine. Around a foot of snow had fallen on parts of the Chicago area and Ann Arbor, Mich., with 10 inches in Vermont. Meteorologists said that 18 inches was possible in northern New England and that there was a chance of 14 inches in parts of Michigan.

"Our biggest advice right now is, stay home," said Maine State Police Sgt. Andrew Donovan. Visibility in the blowing snow was less than 200 yards, and in stronger gusts "if there's a car in front of you, you can't even see it," he said.

Every available plow truck was at work in Vermont, said Reggie Brown, highway department dispatcher in Montpelier. "Everybody's out and running," he said.

The Hancock County Sheriff's Office in northwestern Ohio declared roads off limits to non-emergency vehicles, declaring that anyone else traveling through was subject to arrest.

Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Claffey said 1,000 trucks were out clearing snow there Sunday.

Snow depths in some places were uncertain. "They can't tell how much because it's blowing so hard," Brown said.

"I don't mind an inch or two, but this is too much," said Larry Thelen in Ann Arbor.

Difficult travel conditions
The Hancock County Sheriff's Office in northwestern Ohio declared roads off limits to nonemergency vehicles, threatening anyone else traveling through the county with arrest. Wind gusts as high as 40 mph blew snow around and diminished visibility.

The storm canceled hundreds of flights at airports in Chicago. Many flights were canceled at airports in the Northeast, including in Portland, Maine; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Manchester, N.H. Few major problems were reported at airports in Philadelphia, Boston and New York, although New York's Kennedy and New Jersey's Newark Liberty reported delays.

Many churches called off Sunday services because of the hazardous driving conditions.

"I don't want folks to venture out because we're having church and they feel obligated," the Rev. Glenn Mortimer said after calling off services at Wakefield-Lynnfield United Methodist Church in Wakefield, Mass. He noted that some people still hadn't completely dug out from a storm Thursday that dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of Massachusetts.
Football fans, shoppers undeterred

The storm didn't keep fans away from the New England Patriots vs. New York Jets game at Foxborough, Mass., but they had to shovel off their seats in the stadium. A video of a fire roaring in a fireplace was shown on the scoreboards at both ends of the field.

At Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., strong winds collapsed a fabric dome used for hospitality events before and after games. No one was inside or hurt when the structure fell Sunday morning.

The storm didn't stand in the way of dedicated Christmas shoppers.

"The reason we came out in the storm early, early, is that we knew there would be no lines," Michael McGrath, 48, of Boston, said as he stomped along partly shoveled downtown sidewalks. "It was true. The stores were empty."

Betty Gould and Rocky Castellano drove about 20 miles from Pittsfield, N.H., to Steeplegate Mall in Concord, N.H. Asked whether she considered staying home, Gould said: "Never."

"We like the snow," Gould said. "He thinks he's invincible. He has four-wheel drive, studded tires, the whole bit."

Deaths in Michigan, Wisconsin
Slippery roads were blamed for two traffic deaths in Michigan and one in Wisconsin.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said the storm at one point blacked out 160,000 customers Sunday, although service had been restored to thousands by Sunday evening. Scattered power failures also were reported in Vermont, state officials said.

The storm came less than a week after an ice storm blamed for at least 38 deaths, mostly in traffic accidents, in the middle of the country. Thousands of homes and businesses still had no electricity in parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

Only about 14,900 Missouri homes and business remained without power Sunday morning, down from about 165,000 on Tuesday, but it could be the end of the week before power is restored statewide, said Duane Nichols, deputy director of the State Emergency Management Agency.

[Soldier4Christ]

Over 100,000 Still in Dark in Oklahoma after Ice Storm

Eight days after the powerful ice storm hit the Midwest forcing three states to declare the state of emergency; there still are at least 100,000 homes without electricity in Oklahoma, where the federal emergency was declared by the White House.

"We've had people using generators who ran out of money for fuel to operate the generators," said Vince Hernandez, chairman of the American Red Cross of Central Oklahoma.

Most inhabitants who were still affected by the lack of electric power have relied on a temporary shelter at the Cox Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City on Monday.

The states hit the hardest by the “perfect ice storm” were Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas. The three states suffered a record- breaking power outage last week when electricity to more than million homes and businesses was cut off by the ice that brought the power lines and trees to the ground.

The storm also led to the killing of at least 24 people, forced the management of Iowa's biggest airport to shut it down and canceled 560 flights at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

The largest electricity supplier of the state - Oklahoma Gas and Electric – said in a public statement that at least 70,000 customers, mostly in Oklahoma City, are still struggling without electric power.

Temporary stations were set up in nine of Oklahoma’s main cities so the inhabitants could report power failures.

Another energy supplier of Oklahoma State - The Public Service Company – has reported it had 32,000 powerless homes in its list, while the Oklahoma Association of Rural Cooperatives said it had 5,712.

Vital elements of the city, the hospitals and water-treatment plants, were provided with at least 100 industrial generators sent by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who also brought pre-packaged meals, cots and blankets.

[Shammu]

Thousands still without power in Oklahoma, Kansas

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (AP) -- More than 100,000 homes and businesses remained without power Monday, more than a week after an ice storm battered Oklahoma, and the emergency has outlasted the ability of many residents to pay for it.

 Some depleted their funds before the storm stocking up on food that went bad after the power went out, while others used money to stay in a hotel, thinking power would be restored within a day or two.

"We've had people using generators who ran out of money for fuel to operate the generators," said Vince Hernandez, chairman of the American Red Cross of Central Oklahoma.

Hundreds of people found a place to sleep and hot meals over the weekend at a temporary shelter established at the Cox Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City. Officials reported 349 people stayed at the shelter Sunday night, down from more than 400 on Friday and Saturday nights.

Oklahoma Gas & Electric, the state's largest electric utility, set up temporary walk-up stations in nine central Oklahoma cities for customers to report power failures.

"We've got eight days without lights," said 7-year-old Josue Velasquez, who came to one station with his mother, Rebeca Rascon, who speaks little English. Josue said they "just sit on the couch and wait for the lights to come on" in their "very cold" south Oklahoma City home.

OG&E reported nearly 70,000 without power, mostly in the Oklahoma City area, while Tulsa-based Public Service Company of Oklahoma reported 32,000. The Oklahoma Association of Rural Cooperatives reported 5,712 customers without power Monday.

 Overnight temperatures in the state in the past week have dipped into the teens.

The state medical examiner's office said the ice storm contributed to at least 27 deaths: 16 in traffic accidents, eight in fires, two from carbon monoxide fumes and one from hypothermia.

In Kansas, where six deaths were blamed on last week's storm, about 24,000 customers remained without power, and some of those in rural areas might not see electricity restored for a week or more. The reason is another winter storm expected later this week, said Larry Detwiler of the Kansas Electric Cooperatives.

"We all hope for everybody to be back on by Christmas," he said. "I'm not sure that's a realistic goal."

Margy Knight, who owns several rental and commercial properties in south Oklahoma City that are without power, said she has stopped by OG&E's station every day for the last week and acknowledges she's getting frustrated with the lack of progress.

"I'm trying real hard not to be tacky," Knight said. "I think they're doing the best they can, but they need more manpower."

Rick McCown, a field account supervisor for OG&E, said the company is working overtime to restore power.

"We let them know that we've got people on the ground working to get power restored," McCown said. "We try to be patient with them and let them know we understand their frustration and what they're going through."

While the Plains struggled to put power back on, a swath of the country from the Great Lakes to New England dug out from a weekend storm that dumped 18 inches of snow in some places.

School districts across the region canceled classes Monday. Snow blown by winds gusting to 35 mph cut visibility made driving hazardous. At least eight traffic deaths were reported.

Thousands still without power in Oklahoma, Kansas