European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 13, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 24 a a the stars and stripes thursday december 13,1990 of mail backlog not yet licked by Crystal Lau Kano staff writer mail trucks arc Back on the Road in Germany and Northwestern Europe but weather induced interruptions in commercial airline flights could waylay the . Mail system yet again. Mail was halted at the Frankfurt mail terminal monday by a condition red Road conditions. Trucks were Back in service tuesday although Many roads were still in poor condition said air Force it. Col. Edward Stanford commander of the 7025th air postal so which manages the air terminal at the International Airport. In the military condition red Means that Only emergency vehicles should be on the Road. Commanders can authorize exemptions however and transportation unit commanders and installation commanders have done just that for mail service Stanford said. A it takes a great Deal of coordination to get the exemptions from Alt the commanders but it is necessary Stanford said. A we can to afford to wait. No one can predict How Long Winter will last.�?�1 ,. About 25 trucks carry mail from the terminal to  mail centers and air Force bases in Germany Belgium the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Although mail volume More than doubles during the Holiday season the number of available trucks does no to Stanford said. Air terminal employees began working double shifts tuesday to compensate for the one Day hiatus and additional trucks Are being requested to haul the mail. Stilly the facility is a not fully Over that humps created by the temporary shutdown he said. I a \ a a a cancellations delays or rerouting of commercial flights carrying mail from the states could present another significant problem a he said. By midday wednesday some flights into the Frankfurt Airport were being cancelled or delayed but it was unclear whether any was carrying . Mail. 75-vehicle i in Tennessee kills 15 cal1ioun, Tenn. Apr two Chain reaction crashes in dense fog on a Highway in Southeastern Tennessee killed 15 people tuesday injured More than 50 and left the Roadway looking like a War zone. Fog covered interstate 75 Over the Ali Massce River about 40 Miles North of Chattanooga when the 75-Vehi Cle pileup began about 9 30 a.m., said Cecil Whaley director of the Tennessee emergency management  people involved in the Accident which covered More than a mile of the interstate described hearing booms in the fog As dozens of tractor trailers collided with each other and with cars. Travelling Salesman Ralph Fisher of Cleveland tcrin., was headed North when he hit the fog Patch. He said he noticed traffic slowing Down so he pulled to the Roadside. A after that 1 started hearing Bangs and booms from everywhere. Immediately after that there was a truck on fire from across the Road. We started hearing them banging and booming from Over there. Then All of a sudden you started hearing them from everywhere a said Fisher 43 Whaley confirmed 15 dead but said the number could Rise As. Crews searched the burned shells of vehicles. In some cases Only nameplates distinguished the wreckage of a car smashed into the Side of a truck. Names of the victims would not be immediately released because some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition Whaley  believe an initial Accident occurred in the southbound Lane and cars jumping the median or peo Kle Rubbe necking to see the southbound crash May ave caused the second pileup in the northbound Lane. From there authorities say if was a ghastly Chain reaction. Russell Newman Eastern District regional director of the Tennessee emergency medical Agency says no one is really sure what happened. A a it a just a conjecture As to what caused it but it was just one of those damned Chain reaction collisions that happen in this kind of situation a very heavy fog and probably too much Speed a Newman said. From Page 1. Kuwait a said Paul Rogers a defense analyst at England a Bradford University and an expert of Middle East military affairs. The firing came one month after Saddam sacked the armed forces chief of staff. A a a iraqis ruling baath party newspaper Al thaw a said civil defense authorities have instructed All owners of buildings with two or More floors to convert their basements into shelters it ordered the owners to Post sighs informing people where to take cover. In other developments a a . Marine involved in operation desert shield died monday from a suspected brain aneurysm officials said tuesday. The Marine was the second Marine to die monday a Marine from the amphibious assault ship iwo Jima died of a presumed heart attack after collapsing while participating in group physical fitness training in Bahrain. The names of the two men were withheld pending notification of next of Kin. The number of . Deaths in operation desert shield is now 56, including 49 in air crashes and other accidents according to the . Central come a More freed americans were to head Home from London and Frankfurt Germany. A final evacuation flight from Baghdad was expected thursday. A soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze said the soviet Union has no plans for military involvement a in the Gulf. The foreign minister who is in the United states sent a message to the soviet parliament after a group of deputies accused him of preparing to Send soviet troops to the Gulf without legislative approval. From Paget a /. Murt International  at Rhei main 10 departures were delayed wednesday and four incoming flights were diverted to other air bases said a Public affairs officer 1st it. Toni Kemper. About 60 flights were cancelled at the International Airport wednesday morn Iii and most flights were delayed by about one hour said Airport operation duty officer i lost aussem. The Airport has a staff of about 300 to keep the runways Clear and the air base has 28 workers who free the Way for military planes using Access ramps to the runways. A. A a a a a a the Rhein main staff has been working 12-hour shifts since monday to get the troops airborne. Workers have been using Road graders Street plows attached to dump trucks and air blast sweepers that remove the Snow and blow the ground dry behind it said master sgt. Richard Upton superintendent of maintenance and equipment. Sand has been spree id in elevated areas and chemicals have been used to melt ice. Several schools never got off the ground wednesday Dodd spokesman Frank of Gara said. Schools that closed in Germany included Darmstadt Frankfurt Icahn a be Sembach a and Rhein main schools in Stuttgart Heidelberg Kaiserslautern and Nurnberg closed Early. The going was especially difficult for Drivers on the autobahn Between Niernberg and Berlin and Wurzburg and Frankfurt said a spokeswoman for the German automobile club adar. Conditions in those areas should continue to Worsen said capt. John Gordon of the air Force european forecast unit in Graben Trarbach Germany. He said that heavy snowfall was predicted for Southern Germany on wednesday night and that 2 to 5 inches were possible in Central Germany i Northern Germany was expected to be belted with ice pellets and winds of up to 63 Mph As temperatures climbed Pordon said. A a a a. A a a a a a the Low pressure system causing the Snow was predicted to Settle Over East Central Germany on wednesday night before travelling southward to Northern Italy the Northern Mediterranean Region and then into Northern Spain. The Low pressure system is being followed by a High pressure system that should arrive late tonight arid Friday bringing More of the traditional German rain and Cloudy  by Chuck Roberts /. Staff writer Harald stauss could see it coming a 93 million Miles away the recent ice Snow and bitter winds that hit Europe can be traced to our Distant and Active Sun said the climatologist with the 2nd weather Wing at Kapaun air station Germany. Solar flares and sunspots Are among the solar activities disturbing Earth s magnetic Field and causing an Early Start to what should be a Topsy Turvy Winter Strauss said. The european forecast Calls for lower than Normal temperatures in the North higher temperatures in the South and a combination of both in Central Europe. Two to three weeks of Biller cold could quickly be re placed by four to five weeks of rain and Strong winds similar to last Winter Strauss said. A but we done to know when and we done to know How Long a Strauss said of the predicted sudden  factors could add to what Strauss called a Varia blew Winter. One of those is Al Nino which is Spanish for a a a the  Al Nino is the name for the warm water that arrives around dec. 24 each year on the peruvian coast for a couple of months. If warm water strays far from Peru at christmastime a a basically unpredictable Winter will become More unpredictable said the 15-Ycarwenther forecasting vet Efa Ruthis office in Kaiserslautern. International weather forecasters say it is possible that this mass of warm surface w Ater May travel farther Westward this year causing warmer air and water Tern Pera turns in the Northern Pacific Ocean and possibly As far As the Northern hemisphere near europe4 if this happens there will be mild temperatures and greater than Normal precipitation. The activity also could generate High winds similar to the destructive windstorms flast Winter St Retuss said. Without Al Nino the word for Winter 1990 in Europe is a variety a Strauss said. For the remainder of december cold Weither should continue through the Middle of the month and be followed by warmer weather. The Winter will be marked by frequent precipitation and highly contrasting temperatures that could dip As Low As minus is degrees celsius which is about Zero Derees  said Northern Germany and the Middle Pari of England sometimes have the harsh Winters common to the northeastern United states Only the storms if not last As Long. But Strauss said he could not say when such storms might occur. Similar Winters have occurred three times since re cords have been kept 1958,1968 and 1978, a Jet Stream that dipped farther South last Winter caused severe storms that killed More than 60 people and caused .$20 billion in damage the Jet Stream t High velocity w ind in the upper atmosphere could extend As far South As the pyrenees and Alps this year Strauss said but the mountainous Region surrounding the Mediterranean sea should offset the inclement weather that usually accompanies the Low pressure sys ten of the Jet Stream