The Nation - News from Feb. 5, 1989

The Arctic cold wave that shocked even Alaska moved far enough south to chill Mardi Gras revelers and coat highways in southern Texas with ice. Blowing snow and temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero hampered travel in the northern Rockies and Plains, and shattered or tied low-temperature records in more than a score of Western cities. At least 23 deaths around the nation were blamed on the cold, including four in sledding accidents. In Houston, a man was killed early Saturday in a 17-vehicle chain-reaction accident on an icy freeway. Record lows for the date Saturday included 7 degrees at Seattle; 33 below zero at Great Falls, Mont.; 29 below at Duluth, Minn., and 22 below at Billings, Mont. Records also were set as far south as Texas, with a low of 4 at Lubbock and 16 at Wichita Falls.