by BECKY GOFF
Little Apple Post
RILEY COUNTY - Starting Friday, January 12 through at least Tuesday, January 16th, the National Weather Service has forecasted extreme cold temperatures for Riley County and the surrounding areas.
Additional snow accumulation, along with strong winds are expected. The wind chill could be as low 30 degrees below zero, creating hazardous conditions for both people and animals.
"Have at least one good means of communication, cell phone, if not two or three, have plenty of blankets and some food in your vehicle, a full tank of gas and plenty of cold weather gear, gloves, hats, coats and proper footwear to in case you do have trouble, that you can stay warm for an extended amount of time." Russel Stukey, Riley County Emergency Management Director says.
Staying safe during the extreme cold is one of major concerns, including advance preparations to hopefully prevent pipes from freezing during the frigid temperatures.
"If you have some pipes that you know are prone to freeze, you know, let them drip, don't have them shut off all the way. Find out where those the air is infiltrating into the home or the building and seal up those holes, whether it's with, you know, spray expanding foam or bales of hay or plastic or whatever means you need to do to keep that wind from infiltrating into the structure and then be extra cautious when using generators or alternate heat sources, especially ones that are gas burning because they can cause fumes and carbon monoxide. And that's obviously very dangerous. If you're using a generator, you want to make sure it's outside of the house, away from any air intakes and avoid that motor exhaust from getting into the house and causing problems and be extra cautious of those alternate heating devices, whether they're gas or electric operated because they're not in the in your house normally." Stukey says.
If there becomes a large-scale emergency, such as a widespread power or natural gas outage, Riley County Emergency Management officials will coordinate with area agencies to open a group shelter, if needed, at that time.
There are multiple day time warming shelters located in Manhattan, information about those can be found here.
There are two overnight warming shelters available in Manhattan. One is the Manhattan Emergency Shelter, which does have an occupancy limit, as well, as eligibility requirements.
The other overnight warming shelter is the Center of Hope Ministry at Vineyard Community Church, which is located at 2400 Casement Road. This shelter is open all winter when temperatures overnight are below 36 degrees. Shelter is available here from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am.