Starting Friday night, the coldest airmass on the entire planet began settling in over New England. The air pocket will cause the area to reach negative temperatures comparable only to Siberia, as one excited meteorologist put it. Which means if you live anywhere near the Northeast—well, bundle up, folks!
The frigid temperatures will sweep in from Canada, hitting Maine first and then spreading across New England and New York, with more than 15 million people in the region under wind chill warnings or advisories. The National Weather Service explained that the phenomenon stems from extreme cold temperatures combining with strong winds to create wind chills “rarely seen.”
How cold is this going to be? Manhattan’s Central Park is expected to drop to 9 degrees Fahrenheit, Boston to -8, Philadelphia to 10, and Washington to 14 degrees by Friday night. But thanks to those frigid winds, it’s expected to feel much colder than that—windchill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold. And this weekend, big swaths of New York and New England are set to feel wind chills as low as -30 to -60 by early Saturday.
Since the impending weather conditions are considered to be “an epic, generational arctic outbreak,” according to NWS, there is ample potential for New England to set records over the next 24 hours. Current projections suggest that Boston hasn’t seen weather this cold since 2016—anything colder would rank it among the top 20 coldest mornings on record ever there. New York may not break its record cold snap from 1994 when the area got down to -2 degrees, but parts of North County could see the coldest wind chills in almost 30 years.
In New York, Buffalo Public Schools were compelled to cancel classes on Friday along with Boston Public Schools as a precautionary measure against the extreme cold.
Friday night and Saturday will be the worst of it, with most of New York and New England expected to fall near or below zero. By Sunday and Monday, the cold front is supposed to ease up with above-average temperatures.
When temperatures get this low, it can quickly become dangerous, with frostbite able to develop on skin in less than 30 minutes. Take it from Prince Harry—you don’t want to end up with a frozen willy. Hypothermia is also a risk if proper precautions aren’t taken. Both conditions result when skin is exposed to cold surroundings and forces body temperatures to drop—if it does happen, it’s best to get into a warm room as soon as possible and remove any wet clothing. Another tip: avoid walking on frostbitten feet or toes to avoid serious damage.
New York has already issued wind chill warnings and Governor Kathy Hohcul put out a statement advising New Yorkers to prepare for the dangerously cold weather by dressing in layers and limiting time outdoors. Residents should also make sure their home’s heat is left on and set no lower than 55 degrees to avoid pipes freezing and bursting. There will also be warming centers available all around the state.
