Area braces for cold snap
What does a groundhog know anyway? Two days after Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early end to winter, temperatures in Fayette County and around the region are likely to take a rare dip below zero in the next few days.
But even with temperatures expected to drop below zero, ski resorts in the area aren’t expecting the cold to keep people off the slopes.
“I’ve never experienced weather too cold in Pennsylvania that people aren’t out there skiing,” said Patrick Karnash, activities manager at Mystic Mountain at Nemacolin Woodlands & Spa in Farmington.
Temperatures at the resort are normally 4 degrees colder than in Uniontown, he said, so subzero temperatures are likely, but that won’t stop area skiers.
“Skiers are hearty people, they’ll come out no mater what,” Karnash said. “They live for the cold weather.”
Temperatures in the region are expected to be around or below zero degrees until Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) Meteorologist Pat Herald, with temperatures in higher elevations coming close to 5 or 8 degrees below zero.
With such extreme cold expected the next few days, Karnash said the resort encourages skiers and snowboarders to wear several layers and take more frequent breaks to warm up and drink hot liquids.
After a mild start to winter, artic air masses coming into the area are to blame for the subzero temperatures to come, which is just fine for Karnash.
“It was a little bit difficult when it was 70 and rainy in December,” he said.
“When the weather’s like that, people just aren’t thinking about skiing. As soon as it starts to get a little bit chilly, people are coming out.”
Dick Barron, director of Ski Operations for Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, said a high of 3 degrees and a low of 3 degrees below zero on Monday still won’t stop people from filling the slopes.
“The hotel is full, the customers are here; they will come out,” he said, adding that a bus group of 1,300 came in Saturday night, just in time for the drop in temperature.
“They’ll want to get out, they’ll ski, they’ll want to snowboard and they’ll tube and take snowmobile rides,” he said. “They know to dress for the weather.”
The resort is taking measures because of extreme cold, however, and encouraging skiers to take more frequent breaks, perhaps after every few runs.
Resort personnel also are on the lookout for signs of frostbite and hypothermia, he said.
Dressing for the weather is also a very important part of staying safe in the cold. Dr. William Northington, a doctor at UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh, recommended people who have to be outside dress appropriately to avoid frostbite.
“Usually, it begins with sort of a pins-and-needles feeling progressing to a numbness and then can actually have a throbbing and become painful. Those are sort of the first symptoms that you see,” he said.
According to the National Weather Service, the area has experienced subzero temperatures a handful of times since 2000.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, wind chills in Fayette County are expected to hover around 10 to 20 degrees below zero for first half of the week, Herald said.
“On Wednesday, we’ll probably start to see some recovery,” he said.
“The latter part of the week it will come back up, but temps are going to stay below normal for this time of year.”