[NEWS] Cold prompts Code Blue – and Xmas tree sales

The region was jolted by its first cold snap Sunday, prompting Philadelphia to declare a Code Blue emergency, hospitals to prepare for overnight patients, and purveyors of gloves and mittens to stock the shelves.

Christmas tree vendors rejoiced.

Temperatures were 30 degrees nippier than a week ago, making the chill feel extra frosty - and taking many by surprise.

"When it gets cold this quickly, the homeless people who are living on the street don't always expect it," said Carol Thomas, director of outreach for Project HOME, a Philadelphia nonprofit that focuses on homelessness, "and that puts them at great risk."