The Great California Cold Rush of ‘07

Yep, there's cold in them thar hills. The Governator has declared a state of emergency in California due to "extreme" cold temperatures. Why it got all the way down to 35° F overnight in Los Angeles. Ok, all you Midwesterners get up off the floor. It's not nice to laugh that hard.

Schwarzenegger said in a statement released by his office he was declaring the emergency because of "extreme low temperatures" that threatened the old, sick and the homeless.

The cold snap has been caused by an arctic low-pressure system from Alaska has swept south to California, sending temperatures plummeting to near record lows, officials said.

Temperatures in Los Angeles were expected to reach two degrees Celsius (35 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight Friday, 0 degrees C in San Francisco and minus five degrees C in Sacramento, the state capital. At Lake Tahoe, temperatures were seen at minus 20 degrees C.

It seems a bit theatrical to declare a state of emergency over winter temperatures. It happens to be about -10° F where I am right now. 35° would be a relief. Chipping ice off the dog is getting old already. It is all relative, however. At least the decree targets people at risk. If they were providing heat lamps for sunbathers, we'd really laugh at them.