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© Ryan Garza/Detroit Free PressAnne Cucchiara of Washington Township shields her face from the freezing temperatures and high winds while walking on Washington Blvd. in downtown Detroit on Friday, January 24, 2014.
Detroit reached zero degrees, a smidge from the record of -1 degrees set Feb. 28, 1994. Flint, Saginaw and White Lake all broke records also set that year, according to the National Weather Service. White Lake got coldest overnight, at -18 degrees.
It's the most frigid winter in recent memory, and it isn't going anywhere yet.
"We're kind of locked and loaded in this pattern where we get these storms coming through, at least for the next week," weather-service meteorologist Deb Elliott said. "None of the data I'm looking at shows us warming up to normal, average temperatures this time of year."
The average temperature in Detroit this time of year is about 35 degrees, she said.
Wind chill advisories are in effect, and Detroit Public Schools are among those affected by closings. The high in Detroit today is expected to be in the teens.
Snow will expand from the northern Rockies and central Plains to portions of the Midwest this weekend, reaching the Northeast early next week.
The adverse winter conditions will develop Friday into Saturday over the Plains and is forecast to shift slowly eastward Sunday and Monday.
People traveling by road or airways should expect major long-lasting delays as this area of snow expands eastward and crawls along.
© SGVTribune/Watchara PhomicindaHomeowners Lizette and Tom Verti stack sandbags behind their home in 1100 block of Englewild Drive in Glendora on Tuesday. The couple are preparing for two major rainstorms that will hit the region this week that could potentially cause mudslides in the area devastated by the Colby Fire.
The storm's full force was expected to be felt Friday morning, with possible thunderstorms and rains up to an inch per hour, the National Weather Service said.
A 10-mile stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway was closed overnight in Ventura County because of a high likelihood of rock slides in an area made bare by last year's Springs Fire in Camarillo, the California Highway Patrol said.
On Thursday, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for about 1,000 homes in Glendora and Azusa, eastern foothill suburbs of Los Angeles that sit beneath nearly 2,000 acres of steep mountain slopes stripped by another fire in January.
"We have an hour to get evacuated," said Dana Waldusky as she hurried to evacuate the family home next to the burn area in Glendora. "We're just boarding up all our doors."
In peril: Massive cracks have appeared along the Undercliff between Seaton and Lyme Regis putting this £1million property in danger
* Experts say problems have been caused by the months of torrential rain and storms that hit Britain
A million-pound holiday home could be under threat after huge cracks and steps appeared up to a quarter of a mile inland on the Jurassic Coast after months of appalling weather.
The expensive bungalow west of Lyme Regis in Dorset is surrounded by hundreds of acres of unstable land slumping slowly seawards because billions of tons of rock and mud are on the move.
A three-foot step has been cleaved across the road from the property - even though it is some distance from the sea - as seven miles of the beautiful South West Coast Path has been closed around it.
Dangerous: The fossil rich Jurassic cliffs at Monmouth Beach in Lyme Regis Dorset has been slipping into the sea for two weeks causing massive land movements for miles around them
Sinkhole: The remains of Private Francis Ryan have been swallowed up by a giant sinkhole that opened up beneath his war grave in Pembroke Dock Military Cemetery
* His headstone remains teetering on the edge of the 20ft deep hole
* The soldier served in the 3rd Batallion, King's Liverpool Regiment, and died in England in July 1915. He was born in Longford, Ireland
* Military have so far failed in efforts to trace his relatives
* Sinkhole in Pembroke Dock will be filled with grout to stop the grave sinking
Military chiefs are fighting to save the grave of a First World War soldier called Private Ryan after a giant sinkhole opened up in a cemetery.
The body of the serviceman who died aged 40 has been lost after the 20ft deep hole appeared in the spot where his body was laid to rest.
Private Francis Ryan, who served in the 3rd Battalion, King's Liverpool Regiment, died in England in July 1915.
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In a hazardous weather outlook, meteorologists blamed a combination of windy weather and low humidity. Weekend precipitation is expected to lower the risk.
Meanwhile, Bedford and Amherst counties have been placed under a wind advisory through 6 p.m. Forecasters warn gusts may reach up to 50 mph.
© WPTVThe fire has spread into an abandoned orange grove.
It was first discovered by Florida Forest Service Senior Ranger Gibbs who was scouting smoke plumes, according to the Florida Forest Service.
It is currently threatening a backhoe/tractor and a hunting camp house, the forest service says.
The blaze is now in a marshy area and has slowed down. The fire is approximately 15 miles
northwest of Bassinger.
© Gastonia Fire Department.Crews in Gaston County battled a pair of wildfires Wednesday, including a blaze that scorched about 1 1/2 acres on Chespark Drive in north Gastonia.
This comes one day after crews in Gaston County were called to battle a pair of wildfires. One house was destroyed in those blazes, which scorched more than 7 1/2 acres.
Jake Wimberley of the National Weather Service said the relative humidity will be only 15 to 20 percent Thursday across the region. He said westerly winds of 10 to 15 mph are expected, with gusts to 20 mph.
Westerly winds in the Carolinas typically accelerate drying conditions, meteorologists say.
"Fires can quickly get out of hand under these conditions," Wimberley said.
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Frost quakes occur when water soaks into the ground, freezes, and quickly expands. The quick expansion can suddenly move large amounts of soil and cause small earthquakes.
"I was sitting right here in this room and I heard and really loud boom," Fairview Heights resident Susan O'Mara said.
O'Mara said she heard the sound on Monday at her home. The noise was so loud, she said she looked out side because she thought a car ran into a neighbor's house but didn't see anything.
"I didn't know what it was. A little shake to the house. I thought it was an earthquake."
Comment: There is something seriously weird going on with these winter wildfires as of late. In case you have missed it, here is a sample:
Despite hurricane and record flooding, fire crews dealing with large bog fire near Aberystwyth,Wales
Despite Arctic temperatures, wildfire torches remote building in Woodbury County, Iowa
Wildfire warning issued for Alaska - apparently freeze-dried vegetation can 'spontaneously combust'
Third 'winter wildfire' breaks out in Norway - Second in two days - What is going ON?!
More winter wildfire weirdness as forest fires break out in Oregon
Despite near-freezing temperatures, wildfire rages in Hot Springs, Arkansas