WEATHER FORECAST FOR THURSDAY, JANUARY 31ST, 2019

 

*** WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON… DANGEROUSLY COLD WIND CHILLS OF 25 TO 30 BELOW ZERO. * THE COLD WIND CHILLS COULD CAUSE FROSTBITE ON EXPOSED SKIN IN AS LITTLE AS 15 MINUTES. A WIND CHILL WARNING MEANS THE COMBINATION OF VERY COLD AIR AND THE WIND WILL CREATE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES. FROSTBITE CAN OCCUR QUICKLY AND EVEN HYPOTHERMIA OR DEATH IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. ***

TODAY – MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH – 12.

TONIGHT – PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES THIS EVENING WILL
GIVE WAY TO OCCASIONAL SNOW SHOWERS
OVERNIGHT. LOW – 7.

FRIDAY – MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SNOW SHOWERS AROUND
IN THE MORNING. HIGH – 23.

SATURDAY – CLOUDY. HIGH – 42.

SUNDAY – PARTLY CLOUDY. SLIGHT CHANCE OF A RAIN
SHOWER. HIGH – 53.

In an email sent out by Mike Romigh Sponsorship, events, and social media director for the Beaver County Humane Society at approximately eight o’clock pm Wednesday January 30,2019 a frozen sprinkler system main burst at the Beaver County Humane Society creating extensive water damage from the roof throughout the front interior of the animal shelter.

Here are a few pictures of the damage courtesy of Mike Romigh.

No animals have been affected.

Clean up is underway  and disaster crews are being called to the shelter at 3394 Brodhead Road, Aliquippa.

Stay tuned to Beaver County Radio for continuing updates.

Dozens of vehicles in pileup after Pennsylvania snow squall
READING, Pa. (AP) — Dozens of cars have been involved in a chain-reaction crash on a central Pennsylvania highway after a snow squall caused whiteout conditions.
A witness tells the Reading Eagle she saw about 30 cars involved in the crash on Route 222 near Wyomissing. That’s about 60 miles (95 kilometers) west of Philadelphia.
Numerous ambulances are on the scene of the Wednesday afternoon crash.
A Reading Hospital spokeswoman tells the newspaper some injured drivers are being taken there.
Footage from the scene shows jackknifed big rigs and some cars off the roadway and down embankments.
No other details are available.

AAA: Protect Your Pipes from the Deep Freeze

With a cold snap in the forecast and temperatures predicted in the single-digits, pipes are at risk of freezing due to sudden temperature drops, poor insulation, or incorrect thermostat settings.  AAA East Central offers suggestions that can help prevent your pipes from freezing and bursting, which can cause significant damage and expense. “During the cold winter months, we receive many insurance claims from homeowners and renters who fall victim to frozen pipes,” says Mark Sisson, vice president of insurance for AAA East Central.  “All pipes, whether plastic or copper, can burst, and even a small crack can spew hundreds of gallons of water per day.  That can lead to some very expensive damage.”

AAA Tips for Preventing Frozen Pipes:

• Make sure everyone in your family knows where the water shut-off valve is, and how it works.
• When a freeze is expected, consider allowing warm water to drip slightly overnight, preferably from a faucet on an outside wall.  Even a slight trickle may keep your pipes from freezing.
• When there is the possibility of a freeze, don’t turn down the thermostat at bedtime, and instead maintain the same setting day and night. Drops in temperature, which are more common overnight, could freeze your pipes.
• Open cabinet doors. This will allow heat to reach uninsulated pipes located under sinks.
• Insulate pipes in your home’s crawl spaces and attic, even if you live in an area where freezing temperatures are unlikely.
• Seal leaks around pipes that allow cold air inside.  You also should look for air leaks around electrical wiring, clothes dryer vents and pipes. Use caulk or insulation to keep the cold out.
• Disconnect garden hoses.  If possible, use an indoor valve to shut off and drain water from pipes leading to outside faucets.  This reduces the chance that pipes inside the house will freeze.

Recovering from Frozen Pipes:

• If you turn on your faucets and nothing comes out, your pipes are likely frozen.
• You may be able to use a hair dryer to thaw a frozen pipe. Begin by warming the section of pipe closest to the faucet, then work your way out toward the coldest part of the pipe.
• Never use a hair dryer or any electrical appliances in areas of standing water.  You could be electrocuted.
• Never try to thaw a pipe with a torch or other open flame.  It could cause a fire.
• If your water pipes have already burst, turn off the water at the main shutoff valve in the house, leave the water faucets turned on, and call a plumber.

Fed keeps key rate unchanged and pledges to be ‘patient’
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is keeping its key interest rate unchanged and signaling it could leave rates alone in the coming months given economic pressures and mild inflation. The Fed also says it’s prepared to slow the reduction of its bond holdings if needed to support the economy.
The central bank said Wednesday that it plans to be “patient” about future rate hikes. Its benchmark short-term rate will remain in a range of 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent after having been raised four times last year.
Investors cheered the Fed’s message after its latest meeting that it foresees no need to raise borrowing rates anytime soon even while the economy remains on firm footing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had already been up strongly, surged about 200 points once the Fed statement was released and was up about 430 points 30 minutes later.
The Fed has been gradually reducing its bond portfolio, a move that has likely contributed to higher borrowing rates. But at some point, to avoid weakening the economy, it could slow that process or end it sooner than now envisioned. Doing so would help keep a lid on loan rates and help support the economy.
The Fed’s note of patience about rate hikes marks a reversal from a theme that Chairman Jerome Powell had sounded at a news conference after the Fed’s previous policy meeting in December. Powell had appeared to leave open the prospect of further increases soon. That message had sparked fears in financial markets that the Fed might tighten credit too aggressively this year.
With pressures on the U.S. economy rising — a global slowdown, a trade war with China, a nervous stock market — the Powell Fed is now signaling that it’s in no hurry to resume raising rates after having done so four times in 2018. And with inflation remaining tame, the rationale to tighten credit has become less compelling.
Still, the Fed is having to maintain a delicate balancing act because some gauges of the economy look healthy. The job market, for example, remains robust, with solid and steady hiring. And corporate earnings have so far been holding up in the face of the global slowdown and trade conflicts. Of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 that have reported results for the final three months of 2018, 77 percent have delivered earnings growth that topped Wall Street’s forecasts. Some, though, are lowering expectations for 2019.
Since the Fed’s December meeting, Powell and others on the Fed’s policymaking committee have been clear in suggesting that they’re in no rush to raise rates again after having done so nine times over the past three years. Besides invoking the word “patient” to describe the Fed’s outlook toward future hikes, Powell has stressed there’s no “preset course” for rate increases. The Fed, in other words, will tailor its rate policy to the latest economic data.
In its statement Wednesday, the Fed said, “In light of global economic and financial developments and muted inflation pressures, the committee will be patient in determining what future adjustments” to the Fed’s interest-rate policy will be appropriate.
The Fed’s decision was approved on a 10-0 vote.
The assurances from the central bank have helped allay fears that higher borrowing costs might depress corporate earnings and economic growth. They have also helped spur a stock market rally. With the turnaround, stocks are on pace for their best month since March 2016.
In recent weeks, though, the Fed has been hamstrung in its effort to assess the health of the economy. That’s because the partial shutdown of the government that has ended late last week — at least until mid-February — essentially closed the Commerce and Treasury departments, among other agencies. So key economic data that those departments normally issue — involving retail sales, home construction and factory orders, among others — hasn’t been available to the Fed. Beginning Thursday, though, the government will start gradually distributing the delayed economic reports.
The economic impact of the partial government shutdown will be among topics Powell will face at his news conference, in addition to the global slowdown, the U.S.-China conflict and Britain’s struggles to achieve a smooth exit from the European Union. All those threats could potentially jeopardize the Fed policymakers’ outlook for this year.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The temperature read single digits. The wind chill was heading for record lows.

Yet the only number concerning the County Commissioners was 10, as in the time that the trio was to call to order Wednesday’s work session as per the usual schedule.

During this particular work session, Public Works Director Dan Colville had a slew of updates regarding his department, including:

• A request to have a plaque dedicated at Brady’s Run Lodge in honor of a recently deceased Public Works member
• The need to restore/replace the pipes at the Brady’s Run Recreational Facilities; some of which are 40+ years old
• A snow truck having a malfunction and needing immediate repair

The last of these led Colville to reveal that the Department does not have a credit card in their name, a revelation that shocked Commissioner Sandie Egley:

 

Later during the meeting,  Commissioners’ Chairman Dan Camp spoke about the current situation involving the Beaver County Transit Authority, as he said that the recent changes have led to a slew of complaints that have arrived steadily:

 

The routes that are experiencing changes are Route 1 (from Chippewa to Pittsburgh via Route 65) and Route 11 (Rochester-Beaver-Brighton-Vanport), and the BCTA public meetings will be Monday at 5:00pm & 7:00pm at the Transportation Center in Rochester.

The meeting lasted 30 minutes before the Commissioners exited for executive session and those in attendance braved themselves back into the cold.