By Marilyn Lewis, MoneyTalks News
Folks in the Northeast and Midwest are accustomed to serious cold, but the 2014 polar vortex threw even them a curve ball. The vortex dropped temperatures to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of Minnesota and sent a deep chill into the South, where residents are unaccustomed to prolonged cold.
Once the worst cold was over, the real fallout for homeowners began. CNN called the freeze a “ticking time bombs of sorts.” A thaw unleashes torrents of water from melting ice backed up on roofs, from overflowing storm sewers and from leaking pipes that were cracked during the severe cold.
“Homes, businesses, schools and even a library (were) reporting gushing water and a disruption to services that had already ground to a halt in wake of severe winter weather,” KSDK Channel 5 in St. Louis reported last week…
