Bitter Cold Continues in Rockies, Midwest

The mercury dropped below zero before sunset in Casper, Wyo., and Gunnison, Colo., was bracing for another frigid night after a low of 24 below zero overnight Monday. Forecasts called for a low of minus 25 in the Colorado ski resort town of Steamboat Springs.

A quick check of the thermometer here shows -6F. At least the gale-force wind has died down...the wind yesterday afternoon tore a 4-foot-wide, five-story-tall strip of heavy aluminum cladding off the building where I work...fortunately, we're in the lee of a tall ridge, else it might have been the windows (which were groaning and flexing rather ominously).

In Chicago, temperatures Monday dipped to a low of 4 degrees, beating the old record of 6 degrees set in 1895, according to the National Weather Service.

In the Quad Cities of Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island, Ill., temperatures fell to a frigid minus 4 Monday. The previous record low of minus 2 was set in 1886.

I blame Chimpy and his failure to join Kyoto.

Posted by T.L. James on December 6, 2005 09:09 PM