February 21, 2021 • No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBY: BRITTANY BORER, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) — Heavy snow is expected for the Cascades and Rockies today with rounds of rain for the coast and this pattern is forecast to continue for the next couple of days.

A foot of snow is likely for parts of the Northern Rockies while multiple feet of snow are expected over parts of the northern Cascades with heavy rain of up to 4 inches or more is expected in the Pacific Northwest coast through Thursday.

A weak disturbance will move across the Midwest bringing light to moderate snow this afternoon and evening.

Isolated light snow showers are possible from parts of the Northeast and Central Appalachians today and snow will begin in Chicago this evening and last overnight.

Snow will be falling throughout the Monday morning commute for Pittsburgh and Cleveland with rain enveloping the Tennessee Valley.

Some pockets of light freeing rain may even develop across parts of the Central Appalachians and may begin in New York as snow in the early afternoon but end as rain by Monday evening.

Rain showers will spread across the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley, the Tennessee Valley, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions throughout the day.

Some areas of scattered to isolated thunderstorms may develop along the Carolina and Southeast coasts on Monday night and snow will still be falling in parts of New England by Monday evening before pulling the moisture offshore overnight.

An estimated 2 to 4 inches of snow is likely for much of the Upper Midwest with locally higher amounts possible in Iowa today.

The Central Appalachians and interior Northeast will also see a general area of 2-4 inches while locally heavier amounts are expected for areas downwind of the Lower Great Lakes tonight into tomorrow.

The good news is that most of the country is looking at a much quieter weather pattern this week with only the Pacific Northwest, however, being the exception as they should see rounds of rain and snow.

Additionally, temperatures will finally get back to near seasonable levels across the central US this week.

Dallas is forecast to reach 60 degrees on Sunday, which is the first time temperatures will be that mild since Feb. 8, almost two weeks ago, and will be just short of their average high by 2 degrees.

Charlotte will be at 58 degrees on Tuesday which is the mildest since Feb. 10 and will be 2 degrees above average.

It should get up to 70 degrees or higher at San Diego International Airport on Sunday which will be the first time since Feb. 1 and this will be 5 degrees above average for them.

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February 20, 2021 • No Comments • National News

Megan HarrisBy ANDY FIES, ABC News

(HUNTSVILLE, Ark.) — The bitter cold of the past two weeks has imposed a unique burden on Megan and Kenny Harris, who own a farm in Huntsville, Arkansas: Calves now roam their kitchen.

The couple raise 280 head of cattle and it is now calving season. They have had 47 newborns during this cold snap and expect another 95 in the coming weeks. Some of the fragile calves, born in temperatures that have ranged from well below zero at night to just over 10 degrees in recent days, were at immediate risk of freezing.

Without a large enough barn or heat to shelter all the new arrivals, the calves moved into the Harris’ home. Over the 10 days, they have brought 15 calves into their home, as many as seven at a time, penned mostly in the kitchen. Some have been able to get back to their mothers in a day.

But a handful of weaker ones have been in the house for as long as a week.

“It’s been so cold,” said Megan Harris. “I couldn’t just send them back out there like that. They were just weaker than the other ones.”

She spent Saturday saving a newborn.

“When he was born, his mom had him in the snow. So he was about froze,” she said. She warmed him and fed him a substitute for colostrum, the first milk his mother would have given him. “I’ve spent my morning trying to bring him back to life.”

She was successful. “Now I got him standing up,” she added.

Still, the cold has killed seven calves and Kenny Harris is convinced that “had we not brought in those 15 over the past few weeks, we’d have 22 dead.”

Having a mini-herd in your home isn’t all that different from child care, Megan Harris explained.

“They get their bottles three times a day,” she said. And, since diapers aren’t an option, “you just follow them around and you keep cleaning up after them. At first, they’ll kind of stay where they are supposed to. But as I get them feeling better, they’re up and wandering around and mooing at me.”

But keeping all their animals alive in these conditions adds substantial expense to the Harris’ livestock livelihood. Kenny Harris said the extra hay, fuel and feed needed because of the cold has added $2,500 to their already high costs and low margins. Not to mention the added exhaustion.

“It’s work daylight till dark,” he said. With his cattle spread out on nearby farms, he is in constant motion, “cutting ice two or three times a day because they can’t get water,” and delivering hay and feed for the animals “’cause that’s the only way they can make heat.”

The Harrises know their method for rescuing calves from the cold is limited to smaller operations like theirs, but see it as a necessary custom.

“I was raised doing it,” Kenny Harris said. He added, “It don’t matter if it’s gonna cost us money, we’re still gonna do it to try to keep everything going.”

Kenny Harris heaved a sigh of relief when asked about the forecast for next week, which calls for warmer temperatures.

“We just need the snow and ice to leave and then we’ll be all right,” he said.

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February 20, 2021 • No Comments • National News

ABC NewsBY: DANIEL MANZO, ABC NEWS

(NEW YORK) — The major winter blast that has gripped the nation for the last few weeks is finally lifting.

Over 3,000 daily cold temperature records were shattered and 79 all-time cold records were set between Feb. 12 and Feb. 17, according to the National Weather Service.

Dallas reported 139 consecutive hours at freezing or below freezing temperatures, which tied for the city’s seventh-longest cold streak on record. Waco, Texas, spent 205 consecutive hours at or below freezing temperatures, hitting a new all-time record.

In Monroe, Louisiana, an all-time cold duration was broken with 141 consecutive hours below freezing.

But warmer weather is heading to much of the U.S., including the South, which is suffering a water and power crisis in the wake of this week’s storms.

On Saturday the temperature will climb to 48 degrees in Dallas, 60 degrees in Houston and 62 degrees in Del Rio, Texas.

By Wednesday, the temperature is forecast to climb to 71 degrees in Houston and 69 degrees in Dallas.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, a quick hit of snow will blast the upper Midwest, including Chicago.

The snow will arrive in the Great Lakes and parts of the Appalachians by Monday morning.

By Monday afternoon, some of that snow will make its way into the Northeast. Major cities may see some wet snow, but nothing too impactful.

Most areas will only see 1 to 3 inches of snow, while parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New York may get 3 to 6 inches.

There is some concern that lake effect snow could bring over 6 inches of snow to parts of upstate New York through Tuesday.

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