Cold Weather

The recent weather swings have had most horsemen running ragged trying to keep their horses comfortable and healthy throughout the changes.Sooner or later, the weather will start acting like winter, and horsemen's thoughts will turn to low temperatures and wind-chill factors.Extension agent Bob Shirley of the Carroll County Extension Service office has some cold-weather horse management tips for Maryland horsemen.Shirley said that the hardest thing to convince horse people of is that feeding hay generates more body heat than feeding grains.

While the nation's coldest spots are typically in Wisconsin, Michigan or upstate New York, the unusual weather patterns this month have changed that. Tuesday, the nation's lowest temperature was recorded in the Grand Canyon , at 1 degree below zero. That's not a total anomaly - the great national park posted a national low in March 2011, too. And cold spots are common in New Mexico and Colorado, as well. But the cold weather typical along the Great Lakes region has been noticeably absent, with daytime highs in the 80s and strings of record-breaking heat.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Joseph Karnes spent the past year living in a remote part of Alaska, working as a clerk for a judge and, when the weather permitted, training for the U.S. Olympic men's marathon trials."

¿Q: Is it OK for our dog to play in the snow with our kids? A: Generally, yes -- with some caveats. A dog's normal body temperature is about 101 degrees, so they're a little warmer than us internally. But other factors explain why some dogs are better able to withstand winter weather. Small dogs with less body mass have a harder time staying warm. Dogs with double coats -- a top layer and a thick undercoat -- are naturally better insulated against cold (and heat, too, so people shouldn't shave dogs in an attempt to keep them cooler in hot weather)

The forecast for Saturday's divisional playoff game at Pittsburgh is 32 degrees with a 30 percent chance of snow. Those conditions will make the Ravens feel right at home at Heinz Field. Over the past two winters, the Ravens have heated up when the temperatures have dropped, winning their past five games when the temperature at kickoff is below 35 degrees. And the Ravens don't just win in the frigid cold. They slam teams into the frozen turf. Their average margin in those five wins has been 16.4 points, including a 30-7 rout of Kansas City on Sunday when the wind chill was 16 degrees.

Reducing access to life-saving Code Blue shelter services gives us the chills ("City revises emergency cold weather criteria," Dec. 8). Each year, too many of our homeless neighbors experience frostbite, amputations and even death because they lack adequate shelter. The National Coalition for the Homeless reports that 700 homeless people in the U.S. die every year from hypothermia. These are entirely preventable deaths. In Baltimore, we commemorate some of these deaths on Homeless Persons Memorial Day, Dec. 21, the longest night of the year.

It's getting colder outside, but many people still want to get in a daily run, ride or walk. Outdoors exercise can be done safely in lower temperatures, says Dr. David Buchalter an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at OrthoMaryland. But some precautions are necessary. It's important to stretch, drink fluids and cover your head in the cold. And if your New Year's resolution is to begin exercising this winter, you need to ask yourself some questions first. Question: What's different about cold-weather exercising, and how do you prepare?

From Jay Hancock's Blog: A cold weather forecast has pulled natural gas prices up from an eight-year low, Bloomberg reports. That will probably be reflected in BGE's residential natural gas price for January. But while prices may have notched up, they're rising from really low levels. The recession and a worldwide natural-gas glut have depressed gas prices and profits. The default natural gas price for BGE customers this month (the floating price you get if you don't lock in with another supplier)

Cold weather was most likely the cause of December's massive fish kill in the Chesapeake Bay, the Maryland Department of the Environment reported. About two million fish — mostly juvenile spot 3 to 6 inches long — washed ashore in Calvert County, near the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant, Annapolis, Sandy Point State Park, Poplar Island south of Kent Island, the Honga River in Dorchester County and Tangier Sound. No other fish kills were reported after that single incident.

The intermittent showers that fell on Fenway Park were just half of the climate-related concerns facing manager Buck Showalter and the Orioles on Monday. While the rain threatened to wreak minor havoc on the pitching schedule, the mid-40s temperature was also an issue. Shortstop J.J. Hardy has been back in the lineup for a week after missing a month with a strained oblique, but he was scheduled to take the field for the first time in truly chilly conditions, and Showalter was crossing his fingers.

Reducing access to life-saving Code Blue shelter services gives us the chills ("City revises emergency cold weather criteria," Dec. 8). Each year, too many of our homeless neighbors experience frostbite, amputations and even death because they lack adequate shelter. The National Coalition for the Homeless reports that 700 homeless people in the U.S. die every year from hypothermia. These are entirely preventable deaths. In Baltimore, we commemorate some of these deaths on Homeless Persons Memorial Day, Dec. 21, the longest night of the year.

It will now need to feel at least 7 degrees colder on a winter day for the mayor's Code Blue program — which requires the city to offer additional homeless services and encourages private organizations to do the same — to be activated, a health official said Wednesday. "There are jurisdictions north of us that have fewer [cold emergency] days even though they're colder than us," said Brian M. Schleter, a spokesman for the Baltimore City Health Department, explaining that the decision to adjust the Code Blue criteria was made in part to keep Baltimore's actions in line with other cities on the eastern seaboard.

The intermittent showers that fell on Fenway Park were just half of the climate-related concerns facing manager Buck Showalter and the Orioles on Monday. While the rain threatened to wreak minor havoc on the pitching schedule, the mid-40s temperature was also an issue. Shortstop J.J. Hardy has been back in the lineup for a week after missing a month with a strained oblique, but he was scheduled to take the field for the first time in truly chilly conditions, and Showalter was crossing his fingers.

How much more can the Cardinals take? Matt Holliday's appendectomy followed an 11-inning Opening Day loss in which the losing pitcher, Bryan Augenstein, probably wouldn't have been used if Adam Wainwright's season-ending injury had not made a starter of Kyle McClellan. … Some people think Jered Weaver ends the year with the Yankees. The guess here is that he and the Angels' other top starters, Ervin Santana and Dan Haren , are good enough to keep Mike Scioscia's team in the running all season.

Cold weather was most likely the cause of December's massive fish kill in the Chesapeake Bay, the Maryland Department of the Environment reported. About two million fish — mostly juvenile spot 3 to 6 inches long — washed ashore in Calvert County, near the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant, Annapolis, Sandy Point State Park, Poplar Island south of Kent Island, the Honga River in Dorchester County and Tangier Sound. No other fish kills were reported after that single incident.

The forecast for Saturday's divisional playoff game at Pittsburgh is 32 degrees with a 30 percent chance of snow. Those conditions will make the Ravens feel right at home at Heinz Field. Over the past two winters, the Ravens have heated up when the temperatures have dropped, winning their past five games when the temperature at kickoff is below 35 degrees. And the Ravens don't just win in the frigid cold. They slam teams into the frozen turf. Their average margin in those five wins has been 16.4 points, including a 30-7 rout of Kansas City on Sunday when the wind chill was 16 degrees.

Is your pet ready for winter? The change of seasons should mean a change of your habits, as far as your pets are concerned.In cold weather, your dog is probably safe hanging out in the car while you run errands, since an overcast day won't turn the car into an oven. But cold weather also means you should thump the hood of that car before you start the engine, in case your cat is snuggled against the engine, looking for warmth. Some other seasonal reminders:* If you're into do-it-yourself car care, use caution when changing the antifreeze.

The weekend cold snap, with temperatures dropping to near freezing in some areas, has ended Maryland's mosquito season - and with it any concerns about outbreaks of West Nile virus until next summer, state health officials said yesterday. Cy Lesser, chief of mosquito control with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, said the cold weather - the "first freeze" - killed most mosquitoes or forced them into hibernation. West Nile is a mosquito-borne disease that produces flu-like symptoms in humans, and can be deadly to the elderly or those with weak immune systems.

It could be two weeks before state officials know for certain what killed an estimated 2 million fish in the Chesapeake Bay. Or, they may never find out the exact cause. Biologists with the Maryland Department of the Environment sent tissue samples from the fish, mostly juvenile spot 3- to 6-inches long, to state labs to pinpoint the reason they died. But for now, they believe a rapid drop in temperature in December caused cold-water stress, said MDE spokeswoman Dawn Stoltzfus.

From Jay Hancock's Blog: A cold weather forecast has pulled natural gas prices up from an eight-year low, Bloomberg reports. That will probably be reflected in BGE's residential natural gas price for January. But while prices may have notched up, they're rising from really low levels. The recession and a worldwide natural-gas glut have depressed gas prices and profits. The default natural gas price for BGE customers this month (the floating price you get if you don't lock in with another supplier)