Title: Temperature in Dallas plummet from 80 to 20
1Temperature in Dallas plummet from 80 to 20
2Wednesday's official high in Dallas was 80.
Thursday night brings freezing rain, sleet and a
low in the 20s, according to the National Weather
Service. A particularly brutal batch of Arctic
air has taken hold across the center of the
country, bringing sub-zero temps to the north and
sleet as far south as central Texas. The wintry
mix is expected to continue through Sunday and
threatens two major events -- a downtown Dallas
holiday parade on Saturday and the Dallas
Marathon on Sunday, which typically attracts
25,000 runners, plus family and friends. And
it's not just Texas. Temperatures will be 10 to
30 degrees below average over the Plains into
parts of the Mississippi Valley. Winter
advisories stretch from western New Mexico to
southern Ohio. Major icing is forecast from the
Southern Plains to the Ozarks and into the Ohio
Valley. 900 miles north of Dallas and you'll find
people who'd love to see temperatures anywhere
close to the 20s. Through the weekend, the
highest high in Minneapolis is forecast at 10
degrees. The lowest low -- minus 10. If you throw
in the wind chill, make it 20 below. Hot
Springs, North Dakota, is anything but. Wind
chills there could hit a minus 26. And there's
snow too, just to add to the shivering misery
across the upper Midwest A winter storm warning
covers eastern North Dakota and the northern half
of Minnesota. The Twin Cities area got up to 6
inches of snow on Wednesday. To the north in Two
Harbors, Minnesota, residents were digging out
from under 3 feet of powder. Not great for
driving, but perfect for snowmobiling -- a staple
winter activity along the state's North Shore.
"It's been a while since we've had this much
snow in December," Dixie Bar Grill owner Deanna
Larson told CNN affiliate KARE. No snow means
no customers. So, 3 feet of the white stuff looks
like a lot of green to her. "Actually January,
February, March, can be our largest months in
business, if we have the right snow." They like
the snow in Colorado too, but the bitter cold is
a different story. "The thermometer in my truck
said 7 degrees when I was driving over here, so
it's cold," Boulder resident Mani Moniek told
affilaite KPLC on Wednesday. But as cold as
that is, it got a lot colder just before
midnight, setting a record low for the day at 13
below.
3(No Transcript)
4In Other News
- In Mexico, thieves stole a truck with a cargo of
radioactive cobalt so alarming, nuclear
authorities had to be called in. The truck , and
its explosive cargo, was missing for two days.
But officials found the truck yesterday evening
in a remote area in Mexico. Investigators believe
the thieves may have just wanted to steal the
truck and initially had no idea what was inside.
They may want to turn themselves in to the
nearest hospital. Reactions to radioactive cobalt
exposure can produce severe burns, even death. - Toronto mayor Rob Ford problems keep growing. New
court documents revealed more info about apparent
ties to a drug gang. The documents also allege
Ford tried to buy a damaging video of him smoking
crack from gang members so it would not go
public. At one point, the mayor offered five
grand and a car to make the crack tape go away,
the documents allege. - Fast- food workers nationwide say they're going
on strike today. They are demanding 15 an hour
and the ability to start unions. Organizers say
workers in 100 U.S. cities will walk off the job
today. A similar strike in August attracted
fast-food workers from 60 cities. The President
weighed in on the issue this week, saying the
federal minimum wage needs to be raised. Some
restaurants are questioning how large the
movement really is. A McDonald's spokeswoman says
they are not strikes, but rather rallies staged
by outside groups.