Cold air takes its toll; Winter storms heading toward Myrtle Beach area

Bed mats are being rolled out at Street Reach Ministries in Myrtle Beach as the shelter is serving more people due to the bitter cold, according to shelter officials.

And weather watchers predict a possible wintry mix on Thursday morning.

Forecasters said near record low temperatures are possible this week in the Myrtle Beach area.

12-13-10/Monday-----Myrtle Beach homeless resident Shirl Thomas waits outside Street Reach Ministries for the emergency overnight services to open Monday afternoon in Myrtle Beach. Thomas has been homeless for six-weeks after losing her job as a server. "I thank god for this place cause I'd freeze tonight." She said. The shelter has upped the number of clients it will take for the service and lengthened the time overnight residents can stay due to the extreme cold weather in the area.Photo By Randall Hillrhill@thesunnews.com

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• Tuesday

  Record high 75 degree set in 2001

  Record low 24 degrees set in 1988

  Wednesday

  Record high 74 degrees set in 1995

  Record low 24 degrees set in 2004

  Thursday

  Record high 74 degrees set in 1990

  Record low 19 degrees set in 2004

  Records measured in North Myrtle Beach by the National Weather Service in Wilmington, N.C.

Since last week, an additional 61 people have come into Street Reach through its emergency overnight services, said director Joy Hanner.

Overnighters are typically out by 6 a.m. but the shelter has extended the time to about 7:15 a.m. until it warms up, Hanner said. Individuals can then go up the street to the Community Kitchen to get breakfast. The shelter currently has more than 120 residents.

With the first day of winter a week away, area residents will likely experience the coldest temperatures yet, according to forecasters with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, N.C.

The same storm system that dumped 17 inches of snow in the Minneapolis area and caused the Minnesota Vikings' Metrodome to collapse is moving into the area, said Ron Steve, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

"The same storm system that has caused all that havoc in the Midwest has broken off a chunk of the polar vortex, and that's what bringing all that cold air," Steve said.

Arctic air and gusty winds will push temperatures "well below normal," and wind chills are forecast to be as low as 5 to 10 degrees at times overnight.

Street Reach officials have been distributing blankets, sleeping bags, coats, gloves and socks to clients. Tables with those items are put out in front of the shelter every Tuesday and Thursday since the cold spell, Hanner said. In addition, Christ Community Church in Conway delivered 200 scarves Sunday night to the shelter for its residents. The shelter distributed 150 scarves, she said.

Chad Brogdon, 38, came into the shelter Sunday night after someone told him about Street Reach.

Brogdon, who has been in the area for about three months, was out on the streets.

"I can't deal with this," Brogdon said about the cold weather. "I'm too old to deal with the cold. I'm originally from the West Coast. This is all new to me."

Record lows will be threatened during the cold snap, even though the Myrtle Beach area has limited records on file, Steve said.

Today's record was 24 degrees set in 1988 in North Myrtle Beach, and Wednesday's record was also 24 degree set in 2004, Steve said.

"But we don't know how cold it got in 1960s and that is when Wilmington and Florence set their record lows on those days.

"We do not have data for those days in North Myrtle Beach," Steve said and noted Wilmington's record low for today and Wednesday were 16 and 17 degree respectively. "If our forecast is dead on they won't be broken, but it will be within a degree or two."

And don't expect a warm up to the normal temperatures of 58 degrees during the day and 37 degrees overnight, Steve said.

"We're going to be below normal every day. We won't be seeing either of those numbers any time soon."

A storm system is on the way for Thursday and depending on when the rain begins that morning there could be a chance for a few snowflakes or some sleet, Steve said.

"I would say stay tuned because it's a touchy forecast. We'll be watching that closely," Steve said. "Most of the day will be cold rain because it will warm up into the 40s."

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Mickelson feeling healthy heading into HSBC

SHANGHAI – Phil Mickelson isn’t making any excuses about all the chances he had to reach No. 1 for the first time in his career, nor does he begrudge Lee Westwood for being the player to finally topple Tiger Woods in the world ranking.

He also doesn’t want to blame his health for keeping him down.

Mickelson has been coping with psoriatic arthritis since the week before the U.S. Open, and those around him have said it affected him far more than the Masters champion let on. Given a chance to reach No. 1 in every tournament this summer, the best he could manage was a tie for eighth in the BMW Championship.

A lost summer? Mickelson isn’t sure.

“I don’t know. It’s hard to say,” he said as he walked down the range at Sheshan International. “The U.S. Open, I might have been affected. But I’ve had good time off. I’m on a good medicine. Things feel pretty good. I’m excited where I’m at, excited I can work out the same and get back into the gym, and get back to work again.”

For the first time since Pebble Beach, Mickelson feels as though he is back to normal.

Having already dealt with the unknown when his wife and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, Mickelson had his own worries five days before the U.S. Open

He woke up with intense pain in his tendons and joints. He got through the U.S. Open with stretching and anti-inflammatories, and nearly won the major he covets except for a few putts on the back nine on some rough greens at Pebble Beach. But his condition got worse, to the point Mickelson wasn’t sure what was going on.

Lefty is happy to report that, finally, everything feels right.

“I’ve been taking one drug and I feel 100 percent,” he said. “I feel terrific. I cannot believe the difference. I’ve been able to do all the normal activities in my life. I’ve been able to practice at whatever level, and I honestly don’t feel any different than I did before.”

Mickelson began his medication around the PGA Championship, and he said it took a full eight weeks for it to kick in. That would have been a week after the Ryder Cup, where he hammered Peter Hanson in singles to avoid going 0-for-Celtic Manor.

Now his attention shifts toward his final two weeks of the year.

Mickelson is the defending champion in Shanghai. A year ago in the HSBC Champions, he was in the final group with Tiger Woods and buried him on the front nine. His win allowed him to join Woods as the only players to capture two World Golf Championships in one year.

And that No. 1 ranking is still within reach.

Westwood has a narrow lead over Woods and PGA champion Martin Kaymer, with Mickelson now at No. 4. Mickelson likely would need at least a fourth-place finish to have a chance to get to No. 1, depending on how the others fared.

Asked if it was frustrating to see the No. 1 spot change hands – just not into his – he didn’t seem bothered.

“I haven’t played well since the Masters – or as well as I expected – maybe since the U.S. Open,” he said. “So I don’t feel like I’ve earned it. I’ve got to play well and win more tournaments, and then I feel like those results will take care of itself.”

It might be particularly annoying that Westwood hardly played at all since July, although the 37-year-old Englishman might well have gone to No. 1 much sooner had he been playing.

All that matters to Mickelson is how he performs at the HSBC Champions, then next week at the Singapore Open. That will be his final event of the year before starting up a new season in January.

Besides, Mickelson doesn’t think the battle for No. 1 will be settled until early next year, right about the time the World Golf Championships are played leading into the major championship season.

“It’s fun to be a part of it and have a chance,” he said.

And at least he feels now that he has a fighting chance. Whatever aches and pains he felt are now gone. The occasional listless feeling has been replaced with a normal supply of energy.

Still to be determined is whether Mickelson remains a vegetarian.

He made that shocking revelation at the PGA Championship, but the guy known for his eating prowess seemed to hedge when asked for an update on his ban of meat.

“I’ve been doing it for just over four months and I’m just having second thoughts,” he said. “I don’t know if it really is going to make a difference or what. So we’ll see. We can talk about it in January, and I’ll have a better idea – see how the holidays go.”

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