Warning of extreme cold temperatures
A bitterly cold arctic air mass has moved into the area. The coldest period will be into early Saturday morning with dangerously cold wind chills of -30° to -45° F. Please visit the NWS Extreme Cold Safety Page for cold weather safety tips at https://www.weather.gov/safety/cold.
Additional cold weather or winter storm tips can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/beforestorm/preparehome.html.
Cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills will increase the threat of hypothermia and cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little 5 minutes. These cold temperatures will have impacts on all mechanical systems such as heating systems and vehicles. PLAN ACCORDINGLY! https://www.weather.gov/safety/cold-before. Here is another website with valuable information. https://www.weather.gov/media/aly/PSAs/ExtremeCold.pdf
Periods of extreme cold are often accompanied by an increase in home fires or carbon monoxide alarms. The following link has information that many know about but often ignore or forget about that could contribute to a chimney fire or dangerous levels of carbon monoxide buildup in homes. Today would be a good time to check your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to be sure the function properly and if powered by disposable batteries, ensure they are fresh. https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/heating-system-safety-in-co....
As of 5:00PM today (FEB 3rd) the American Legion Post #50 in Castleton will be operational as a warming shelter only until 11:00 p.m. It will reopen at 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. on Saturday (FEB 4th). There is also a regional shelter open at the United Methodist Church located at 60 Strongs Ave. in Rutland. The hours of operation are Friday: 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday: 7:00 a.m. to Noon. This warming center will serve breakfast and lunch these days. To clarify, the difference between a shelter and a center: a shelter allows for overnight accommodations, while warming centers are only open during the daytime.
If anyone needs overnight shelter, on Friday or Saturday nights, please use the regional shelter in Rutland. The BROC shelter (802-855-4813) welcomes people regionally. They have a capacity of 30 people. It is located at 45 Union Street (BROC). They are open from 4:00 PM to 7:00 AM tonight and tomorrow night. All are welcome, including pets. If someone without transportation calls the shelter number (802-855-4813), BROC may be able to coordinate transportation to pick them up.
Please, check on your neighbors. Consider calling to check on known vulnerable peoples. The Town’s emergency management team has reached out to the police and fire chief to be prepared to go door-to-door if necessary. Negative 35 degrees with wind chill is going to challenge heating systems, vehicles starting, and pipes from freezing. This blast of artic air is predicted to be short in duration with minimal impact to critical infrastructure, the environment, or to human life, but it should not be underestimated because it can be deadly if not prepared. If you find yourself in a life-threatening situation, do not try and "gut it out". If you are in need of assistance, contact 911 before the situation becomes dire.