Omaha daily bee., 1916-01-13
EXTREME COLD
FOLLOWS STORM
Ccontlnued from Page one)

/ lot IN the rear OF DrcSher Bros. plant.
A strange freak OF the storm IL that
the thermometer registered zero at Des
Moines and % above zero at Davenport.
II was So below zero az Prince Albert,
Canada yesterday morning.
Anniversary OF blizzard.
Colonel welshs telephone at the
weather bureau was busy without n
moments interruption from a m. till
after noon. when the inquiries about the
storm and the forecast began 20 get
little less frequent.
Yesterday was the anniversary OF the
great blizzard. January y. 1883.
The advent OF this storm was different
from the advent OF the 1883 blizzard. On
that day the weather was mild and
pleasant up 10 y. m. The maximum
temperature for the day was IS above
zeDo. Then, without warning. the storm
broke. and by midnight the thermometer
had dropped TO 6 below zero. with terrific
wind and snow.
The Thermometer didn't get above zero
for eleven days On January 18th the
minimum was Is below: on the 18th IL
was q below and on the 18th Il was %
below. Not till the sd did the minimum
rise above the zero mark and then only
two degrees
Traffic Impeded.
Cars were stalled over the city yester-
day. not so much because OF the amount
OF snow, a. because OF its drifting be-
fore the high wind. Seven Leavenworth
street cars were stalled in a row at FIT
teeuth and Douglas strets about noon
and the crews we're out with brooms and
shovels clearing the tracks. They fin
ally got under way and. keeping together
proceeded slowly on their routes.
The cars on all lines when they did get
through usually came in punches OF from
two to six. shivering folks who had been
waiting anywhere from ten minutes TO
nearly an hour we're naturally relieved
20 see the cars heave into sight. but the
first car or two In each bunch was so
packed that 1t didn't stop. At full speed
and Changing his bell the motorman
swung past. Some of the desperate made
efforts TO get on the rapidly moving cars
and narrowly escaped accident. a con
ductor on a Farnam car. seeking to dis
courage this sort OF thing. brandished a
broom from the rear platform as his we'll
filled car hurried past the little groups.
Many walked down town because that
was the only way TO get down. Walking
south wasn't bad, but II a person walked
north the forty-mile gale and the 10 below
zero temperature burned the face like
fire.
Trains Are DIRyed.
While there Is no heavy fall of snow
10 impede the moving OF trains, the ran
roads are having great difficulty in
combating the storm I'm an effort TO
keep trains anywhere near on schedule
In Nebraska. Kansas. Iowa. South Da-
kota. Wyoming and Colorado, over
which the blizzard has been general
since late Tuesday night.
Along the railroads. what snow has
fallen and Ia stlll falling Is being swept
into the cuts by the high winds but Il
Is easily moved by the snow plows that
have been constantly working since
carly morning. The greatest difficulty
experienced by the roads is that at all
stations the switch yards drift full of
snow and It is a hard matter to get the
trains in and out. Then. too. Il is so
cold that when the wheels Of cars and
engines pass over the snow drifted on
TO the tracks, instead OF being melted
by the friction. II Is converted into solid
ice. This condition greatly impedes the
movement OF all trains within the storm
zone.
Freight Trains AnnuIIed.
On all the roads operating in and out OF
Omaha all trains loaded with perishahle
/ freight have oeen annuled. Stock trains
that started out prior to the storm are
being rushed through TO Omaha. or else
shunted IN on sidings out on the lines
where there Is food and shelter for the
animals. Stock that is In sheltered yards
is not being loaded out.
All other classes OF freight are being
moved along. hut the trains are not maxi
ing anywhere near schedule time
! on the main lines the passenger trains
are running from one-half hour TO three
hours late. those that are latest are the
ones that are running against the strong
northwest wind
Trains Blocks Traffic.
/ At the Union station the Missouri Pa
cific's Kansas City train was the only
one TO arrive on time.
There was no train departing from the
east or arriving from that direction from
Ia until II in the morning. The DELAY
was caused by a derailment OF the North
westerns Carroll local. Leaving the sta.
ton on time the engine safely passed over
tho puzzle switch az tho east end OF tn,
yards. The first and second cars fol
lowed the engine. but the first coach spill
the switch and ran in between the rails
, This blocked both tracks 20 the bridE,
and delayed all traffic until hoisting ma
ohinery was brought into action and tw,
cars lifted back on the track.