Never Rains But Pours

Well some of you might have seen on the news or read over the ap-wire that St. Louis has been declared a disaster ( ;) all cultural jests aside from the coasts, please)... the National Guard came in sometime overnight last night to help check on residents without power and to transport them to cooling stations set up all over the area, with plans to set up additional locations (these efforts are also being facilitated by the fire department and area volunteers). If you're in the affected area and you *do* have power, don't get out driving around, because in addition to the stoplights being out, you'll encounter long lines at the few gas/petrol stations still operating. Do call to your local restaurants, some of them have brought in generators to power themselves and it could be a welcome relief from heat and canned goods. Take a walk through your neighborhood (weather permitting) to check on any elderly residents or those living alone to see if they need water, food or cooling down.

Food Safety: (after losing electricity)
Remember, 4-6 hours without power, throw out your refrigerated meats and dairy products, to conserve the temperature don't open doors or quickly as possible.
Frozen foods tend to be good for a couple days if you keep the door shut.
Keeping Cool:
If you've been cooling with a/c and lose power, keep your doors and windows closed for about 6-8 hours, at which point the cool will have dissipated and you'll want to open doors and windows for airflow.

Hopefully this most recent system moving through will mean the end of the triple-digit temperatures.

My sister is alright, but, we're still waiting to hear from Mom after the last round of storms right after lunch today, so I hope everyone is ok... heard a friend in Fairview lost part of his roof, but he and his wife are alright and that's the most important thing.