Remember how cold it was Thursday, February 3^rd in Central New York?  At the Syracuse Hancock airport, we dropped down to 2 degrees for an early morning low.  Down in Oklahoma, where you’d normally expect the weather to be warmer, they achieved the coldest temperature to date for that state.  Nowata, Oklahoma broke the all-time record low temperature by dropping down to -31 degrees Fahrenheit.   The previous record stood at -27 degrees Fahrenheit, achieved in both 1905 and 1930.

Gary McManus, an associate state climatologist from the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, said, “We got much colder temperatures than anyone thought would occur.” He also said, “We just had a very cold arctic air mass and a heavy snow pack and that allowed the temperatures to plummet when the wind died down.”

Meanwhile, cattle ranchers had struggled to keep their herds well fed and hydrated.  Danny Engelman, a local rancher said, “If the temperatures get down to zero, with wind chills of 20 below zero, you’ve got a good chance of losing a calf.”  Engelman also said, “Sometimes you’ve got to put them in the pickup and get some heat on them.”  He stated that if a cow eats high-protein feed, it is possible for them to endure the bitter cold.

According to McManus, Oklahoma, temperatures should rise to the 60s by this weekend and reach the 70s by next week.

The original article is located here.