CNN news 2010-01-11 加文本

2010-01-11 cnn

As you know, much of the nation including the south is still in the grips of an arctic blast. Here is what we know at the time. Frigid temperatures blamed for at least seven deaths across the nation. But, today, snow is a real concern in several southern states, and behind that, icy precipitation. More cold temperatures with wind chills dropping to 15 below zero in areas of the southeast. It's such a foreign thought I could hardly say it. A light snow already falling in parts of Tennessee with another arctic blast expected to follow. That's the worst part of it.

Rob Marciano is braving those frigid temperatures with his very warm cnn jacket. He is joining us now live. Dare I ask how it feels out there, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this is Beil Street. That's the biggest truck I have seen in Memphis. Let alone any action on Beil Street this early in the morning. Baby Cain's place is right there. Kind of surreal to have snow falling here. I mean, it's not unheard of but certainly rare.

What's even more rare, Heidi, is the extended cold snap that not only Memphis is seeing, but, of course, much of the eastern two thirds is seeing across western parts of Tennessee. It's been so bad yesterday that the power company and the mayor got together, and said, you know, we need to do something about the people that don't have any power.

I mean, they set up warming huts and warming shelters. What about people that just sit in their homes and they don't have any power because they couldn't pay their bills. They went out and they turned on about half of the people that didn't have power, because they couldn't pay for it, and now they have power and heat at least for now until the temperatures warm up. And that's not going to happen until the beginning of next week.

The winds have changed. We're right about freezing earlier this morning now. Temperatures are dropping. The bigger story is not so much the little dusting of snow they got here, but the colder air, the second surge of colder air that's coming down. And it will -- in many cases down into the single numbers, maybe down near zero tomorrow and Saturday morning. So it’s certainly chilly down here in Memphis, Tennessee. A place you wouldn't think to see much snow flying around, but it's been occurring until the beginning of this decade. No doubt about that.

COLLINS: We have, for sure. All right, Rob, appreciate that. Thank you.