Montgomery County Declares 'Code Blue' for Saturday and Sunday

Information provided by Montgomery County Health Department:

The Montgomery County Commissioners, on the advice of the Montgomery County Health Department and the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety, have declared a Code Blue Cold Weather Emergency for Montgomery County based on a review of forecasts from the National Weather Service, and because of the large number of county residents still without power and heat.

The Code Blue will be for the two-day (48 hour) period beginning at Noon Saturday, November 3, 2012 until Noon Monday, November 5, 2012.

“Normally, a Code Blue declaration is issued when we are expecting colder weather,” said Josh Shapiro, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, “but with temperatures expected to dip into the 20s overnight Saturday and Sunday we believe it is prudent to declare a Code Blue given the fact that so many people in the county remain without power and heat.”

A Code Blue Cold Weather declaration is declared in Montgomery County when winter conditions pose a threat of serious harm or death to individuals without shelter.  A Code Blue is called when the combination of air temperature and wind chill is anticipated to be 20º F or less.

For general cold weather information check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/.