LOW TEMPERATURES UPSET INAUGURAL PLANS
By Sandra Evans and Paul W. Valentine
Washington Post Staff Writers
(1-22-85)
A record-cold Inauguration Day yesterday, stranded bus riders, closed schools, burst water pipes, choked up automatic money machines, filled homeless shelters, and drove President Reagan's swearing in ceremony inside.
The temperature at National Airport sank to 4 degrees below zero--or minus 25 degrees with the wind chill factor- at 6:a.m. yesterday, well below the previous low for the day of 2 degrees above, set in 1893. At least 49 deaths in 14 states blamed on the weather, as well as one death here; at least seven cases of frostbite were treated at one area hospital.
Historic lows were recorded in cities all along the East Coast and throughout the South,as bittery cold air swept down from Canada, and the Florida citrus crop was threatened by temperatures that dipped to 6 degrees in some areas.
The West Coast experienced a relatively balmy day, and Anchorage basked in the 20s and 30's. Akron, Ohio, and Knoxville, Tenn., .. were officially the coldest places in the nation, with lows of 24 degrees below zero, according to the National Weather Service. Buffalo reported 27 inches of snow and "zero visibility,and only emergency vehicles were allowed on the streets.
In Washington, more than 1,200 homeless persons took refuge in private and city-run shelters Sunday night, filling some to capacity.
In Response to frigid weather, some schools will be opening late today.
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