KANE — The coldest weather is behind us, according to the National Weather Service following record daily lows being set across the region on Tuesday.
In Kane, overnight lows of -21 degrees Tuesday are to be replaced by a high in the mid-teens today and up to the mid-20s by Thursday.
Elyse Colbert, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Bureau in State College, said the gradual warming trend beginning today is set to continue through the weekend with temperatures topping out around 40 degrees on Sunday.
The warming trend is welcome news for residents having braved a frigid blast of arctic air that set record daily lows across the area, according to the National Weather Service.
As Colbert put it, “after minus 20 degrees, 30 degrees will feel quite warm.”
“It will be another cold morning Wednesday and getting closer to normal this time of year,” Colbert added.
Of those daily record lows set on Tuesday, Kane bore the unfortunate distinction of the coldest in weather service’s coverage area, which extends diagonally from Warren to Lancaster County.
Kane was matched by Ulysses, also at -21 degrees on Tuesday, and followed by Glen Hazel with -17; Bradford with -15; Coudersport with -15; Oswayo with -14; Ridgway with -13; and Stevenson Dam with at -10.
While the frigid temperatures caused the closure of the Kane Area School District, along with every other school district in the four-county region, on Tuesday, it was “business as usual” in the borough.
The temperatures did nothing to deter residents from coming into the Kane Senior Center, according to director Beth Lenaway.
While 24 seniors did brave the cold for the goulash on Tuesday afternoon, Lenaway said the people who come into the Center have lived in the area for many years. Lenaway said while some regulars at the center may have had a touch of influenza, most bundled up and found rides.
“We are a hearty stock here,” Lenaway said. “We’re tough.”
Conversely, attendance at the Kane Area Community Center was sparse. Community Center director Michelle Palmer said as soon as the school district announced its closure on Monday, she fielded many telephone calls. However, Palmer said only a handful of children showed up at the Center, where, according to volunteer Linda Rich, most of those in attendance were middle school-aged, and either played basketball or used the computing facilities in the basement. One youngster found himself playing pickleball with some adults who used the Center’s facilities for their match.
Kane’s businesses were mostly open, but the extreme cold chased many consumers away. Tom Orzetti from That Natural Store said as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, they had not had a single customer all day. Pat Elmquist of Crossroads Country Store and Music reported the same results. Elmquist said sales after the holiday season are usually slow, but the brutal weather made it grind to an almost complete halt.
“Bad weather doesn’t help us,” Elmquist said.
One of the borough’s businesses that had a steady stream of people coming in and out was the Photo and Sound Shoppe in Kane.
Owner Jim Greville said that selling Carhartt winter clothing has been good for business. He said even though traffic was down on Fraley Street on Tuesday, people who have to work in the woods in the arctic temperatures, such as timber industry and oil and gas industry workers, come in to make sure they can stay bundled up on the job.
