Early winter storms pound eastern U.S., causing power outages and dangerous travel conditions12/11/2018 Pershelle Rohrer Two winter storms hit the eastern United States in November, leaving snow and ice from Maine to, as far south as, Louisiana. Winter Storm, Avery, occurred from November 14th to November 16th, 2018, beginning in Louisiana and Mississippi and ending in the New England states while Winter Storm Bruce began in Colorado and traveled east through the plains, Midwest, Great Lakes, and northeast over Thanksgiving weekend, causing travel complications for thousands of people during the holiday. Avery was an early snowstorm, bringing the first measurable snowfall of the year in cities such as Memphis, Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Monroe, Louisiana received 0.4 inches of snow on Nov. 14, breaking the record for the earliest measurable snowfall by ten days. Five people were killed on the roads on the first night of the storm, including two on a casino-bound tour bus that overturned in Mississippi. 44 others were injured. The storm traveled toward the Ohio River Valley area, downing power lines and eliminating power for more than 70,000 customers in Kentucky, 67,000 in Indiana, and 35,000 in Ohio, according to NBC News. Cincinnati and Dayton saw ice accumulation of ¼ to 1/3 inch overnight from November 14thto 15th. The St. Louis metro area received six to nine inches of snow in places. Three dozen locations in Pennsylvania and New York picked up at least a foot of snow. New York City’s Central Park received six inches, the second heaviest day of November snowfall since tracking began in 1869. State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn State University, received 10.3 inches of snow as Avery passed through. Parts of New York had winds of over 60 miles per hour. A second track of the storm traveled up the Atlantic coast, meeting the main portion in the northeast. Snow covers the road in West Scranton, Pa. on November 16, 2018. Photo Credit: The Times-Tribune Winter Storm Bruce hit the central and eastern U.S. beginning on November 24th, creating unsafe travel conditions during the holiday weekend. Accidents occurred on the roads, including a 20-vehicle pileup on I-70 near Frisco, Colorado, and nearly 3,000 flights were cancelled as a result of the storm. The storm caused blizzard conditions in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois, and St. Louis experienced a funnel cloud, creating a rare blizzard warning and tornado warning in close proximity of each other. Chicago was mainly impacted by the storm on the night of November 25thand morning of November 26th, when some surrounding areas received thirteen inches of snow. It was the fifth deepest November snowfall recorded there since the National Weather service began tracking in 1884. 350,000 customers lost power, and about 16,000 were still without it as of November 27th. “Life threatening travel conditions” were reported by the National Weather Service, and an ice warning was sent out just before rush hour on the morning of the 26th. Over 1,000 flights were grounded at Chicago airports as of the 27th. Over three dozen Metra trains were delayed or cancelled as a result of the snow. People were advised to stay away from Lake Michigan as waves were measured as high as 16 feet in Cook County. The lakeshore bike path flooded as wind gusts of 50 miles per hour drove waves toward the shore. Waves from Lake Michigan crash against the shore in Chicago, Ill. on November 26, 2018. Photo Credit: The Chicago Tribune Madison Halsne, a student in Chicago, has lived there for three years and recently moved to Edgewater on the northeast side from downtown. “The past two years I had been living downtown, so it was weird to see that the sidewalks weren’t shoveled as promptly as they would have been if I were still downtown. It was very slippery on Tuesday morning when I was heading to class.” Areas on the northeast side of the city received anywhere from three to seven inches, and Halsne estimates that Edgewater received about five inches of snow.
Chicago’s northwest suburbs were hit the hardest. Schaumburg, one of the city’s major suburbs, received 9.2 inches of snow overnight. Some places in north-central Illinois topped a foot of snow like Bull Valley, which received 13.1 inches. O’Hare International Airport on the northwest side was hit with 7.4 inches of snow, and the Midway Airport to the southwest had 3.4 inches. The storm caused cancellation of classes and finals for students like Halsne due to the unsafe conditions for travel the day after the storm. Temperatures also dipped into the teens at times, and people struggled to stay warm. “It may not always snow a lot, but the cold weather here is no joke!” said Halsne. Ice became a problem in the days following the storm. “When I was leaving work on Tuesday [November 27th] night, I saw someone slip and fall downtown on the snow-covered ground,” Halsne recalled. As the temperatures began to rise on November 29th, ice began to fall from as high as 1,100 feet from the tops of skyscrapers. Roads surrounding the John Hancock Center, Chicago’s fourth tallest skyscraper, were closed after ice began smashing windshields and posing a threat to the public. Halsne was not affected by the falling ice. Winter Storm Bruce traveled through the Great Lakes region and New England after passing through Chicago. The storm reached Vermont by Wednesday, November 28th, and as of 7 AM that day the city of Rochester had 24.7 inches of snow accumulation. The snow and ice affecting the eastern half of the country in November made for an interesting holiday weekend.
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BRIAN ROCHA
Depression and suicide are in the top ten of leading causes of death in the USA in recent years. This is a huge problem, especially for teenagers who are in high school because more teenagers are suffering from depression right now, and the only exit that they find is suicide. To prevent and try to decrease the rate of suicide in young people, the Hope Squad was created at Logan High School. The Hope Squad is defined as a group of students that are been chosen by their classmates of the school to help students to prevent suicide and try to help the students who are depressed. This group currently has 26 members who have been trained to help students deal with negative feelings. This group of students is here in our school for the first time, and they are led by their teacher Mike Mudrow, but even though this is their first year in Logan High School, this is not the first Hope Squad group. Mike Mudrow tells us, "Hope Squad is created by a teacher in Provo, and he saw that are a lot of suicides in his school, and he said we have to do something about this." The idea of that teacher works, the suicide rate reduces a lot in the school. This Hope Squad people, when they find a person who is depressed, “They try to make friends with them. It's a lot harder making friends when you are depressed, and so part of the mission of Hope Squad makes sure that everybody in the school has friends,” Mudrow said. Ruben Cruz, who is part of this group of students, tell us, “Most of the time they meet to talk about ways to prevent suicide or ways to help other students dealing with depression.” That helps them to know how to act when somebody is depressed. Hope Squad members help the other people not only to decrease the rate of suicide. They help the people because their favorite part is going to other students and giving them the help they need to enjoy their high school experience more instead of bullying or having depressive feelings. This group, despite its first year, has had a good performance in the work of helping people with depression, and there is no doubt that they will continue to improve every day. |
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