Lindsay Scott, of Help the Aged in Scotland, said predictions of a colder winter and recent increases in the cost of fuel could mean pensioners would face a particularly difficult winter.

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Power outages threaten to paralyze the country and leave many people at the mercy of a colder than usual winter.

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The weather has turned colder, and winter is upon us.

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It has not gone unnoticed that as winter draws near, the colder states which rely on cheap heating oil, like Michigan and Ohio, are either battleground states or Democratic states in the north-east which Mr Gore needs to win in the election.

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Large fluctuations from warm to cold winters have been the rule for the U.S., as one can see from records kept by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA. For example, the winters of 1932 and 1934 were as warm as or warmer than the 2011-2012 one and the winter of 1936 was much colder.

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"The winter here is just as cold as in Shropshire where I used to live, sometimes colder, " Mr Marlow told the BBC News website.

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