(Trends Wide) — A brutal gust of dangerously cold winds is expected to sweep across the Northeast and New England on Friday, prompting authorities to close schools and activate emergency plans as the region braces for record-breaking sub-zero temperatures. .
In much of the region, frigid air, down to minus 35 degrees Celsius, will combine with gusty winds, a terrifying double whammy that could bring frostbite in as little as 10 minutes in some areas.
“Temperatures in most regions will likely see their highest daytime temperatures before sunrise as temperatures dip throughout this Friday. High winds will bring dangerously cold temperatures, with the peak of the cold in the northeast occurring later this Friday through Saturday morning,” Trends Wide meteorologist Taylor Ward said.
The severe cold has put more than 15 million people in the region under wind chill warnings or advisories. Wind chill indicates how cold the air may feel, and the weather service issues these advisories when winds are expected to be as cold as minus 31 degrees Celsius.
The cold snap is expected to start to abate on Sunday, when temperatures are likely to rise again. Meanwhile, the authorities of several states have begun to ask residents to stay at home and have increased reception centers to accommodate those most vulnerable to the cold.
Schools in Buffalo (New York) and at least three districts in Massachusetts decided to cancel classes this Friday as a precautionary measure for the safety of students and staff. The city of Boston is also in a cold emergency situation from this Friday until Sunday.
“With the extreme weather conditions and many of our students commuting to and from school, walking and waiting for public transportation in the open air, we have made the decision to close for the day,” said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper, in a statement.
Officials in New York’s Erie County — where Buffalo is located — have issued code blue, which allows homeless people to seek shelter overnight when temperatures drop below 90 degrees. In addition to opening three overnight shelters in the county, daytime warming centers are also available.
Extreme cold is gripping Buffalo weeks after blizzard conditions wreaked havoc in Erie County over Christmas weekend, killing at least 39 people. The South is also battling a deadly ice storm that made road conditions miserable this week, killing at least eight people in two states.
“Please dress appropriately and do not go outside for extended periods to avoid frostbite or hypothermia,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said online.
In neighboring states, warming centers are expected to be available in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont, officials said.
What to expect this weekend
All of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut are under a wind chill watch. Northern New Jersey, northeastern Pennsylvania, and much of New York state outside of New York City and Long Island are also under wind chill threat.
“Very dangerous wind chill is likely and widespread wind chill advisories and warnings are in effect for all of New England and parts of the Northeast,” the National Weather Service said Thursday. “There is a possibility of numerous record low temperatures on Saturday morning.”
Maine will likely bear the brunt of the storm in terms of longevity, as well as severity at times, with more than 70,000 people in the northern part of the state under blizzard warnings, according to the National Weather Service.
“Extreme cold and wind producing dangerously low temperatures this Friday through Saturday. Blizzard conditions in snow blowing across open areas,” the National Weather Service in Caribou, Maine said.
Here’s what’s forecasted the most in places with Wind Chill Warnings:
- Bangor, Maine – Temperatures will begin to drop after midnight this Friday and will hit their low of minus 30 degrees C during the early morning hours of this Saturday.
- Boston: Winds will feel as cold as minus 35 degrees Celsius, with subzero temperatures lasting from Friday night through Saturday morning.
- Burlington, Vermont: Temperatures will drop as low as minus 26 degrees Celsius, with the coldest winds reaching minus 41 degrees.
- Manchester, New Hampshire: Temperatures will remain below freezing this Friday night through this Saturday morning, with a high of -25 degrees Celsius. The coldest winds will be 40 degrees below zero.
- Mount Washington, New Hampshire – The highest peak in the Northeast can face gusts in excess of 130 mph early this Saturday morning. This, combined with temperatures of 40 degrees below zero or below, will create a wind chill of up to 73 degrees below zero.
- In the rest of the country, New York will register temperatures in the single digits, with a maximum of 13 degrees this Saturday morning. The winds could reach 21 degrees below zero, with the night from Friday to Saturday being the coldest period.
The south is still affected by the ice storm
Further south, an ice storm hit parts of several states including Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee this week.
Sheets and sheets of ice, sleet and freezing rain for several consecutive days endangered the lives of drivers and uprooted many limbs and branches from trees that ended up downing power lines for tens of thousands of people.
As of early Friday, more than 250,000 Texas homes and businesses were still without power after the storm, according to tracking website PowerOutage.us. About 60,000 homes and businesses in neighboring Arkansas were also in the dark.
The impact of the ice storm on the roads caused deadly conditions this week.
A downed tree blocks most of the Barton Skyway in Austin, Texas, during a winter storm on February 1.
In Oklahoma, two people died in separate accidents after losing control of their trucks on icy roads.
And in Texas, three people died near Brownfield after a truck driver lost control Wednesday morning on an icy stretch of US 380 and overturned in a ditch. The driver and two of his passengers were killed, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported.
Another driver died near Eldorado, Texas, after losing control of her truck, the department of public safety said.
One person was killed in a 10-car pileup in South Austin, the city’s fire department said.
In Arlington, Texas, a person died after their vehicle rolled over, police said.
(Trends Wide) — A brutal gust of dangerously cold winds is expected to sweep across the Northeast and New England on Friday, prompting authorities to close schools and activate emergency plans as the region braces for record-breaking sub-zero temperatures. .
In much of the region, frigid air, down to minus 35 degrees Celsius, will combine with gusty winds, a terrifying double whammy that could bring frostbite in as little as 10 minutes in some areas.
“Temperatures in most regions will likely see their highest daytime temperatures before sunrise as temperatures dip throughout this Friday. High winds will bring dangerously cold temperatures, with the peak of the cold in the northeast occurring later this Friday through Saturday morning,” Trends Wide meteorologist Taylor Ward said.
The severe cold has put more than 15 million people in the region under wind chill warnings or advisories. Wind chill indicates how cold the air may feel, and the weather service issues these advisories when winds are expected to be as cold as minus 31 degrees Celsius.
The cold snap is expected to start to abate on Sunday, when temperatures are likely to rise again. Meanwhile, the authorities of several states have begun to ask residents to stay at home and have increased reception centers to accommodate those most vulnerable to the cold.
Schools in Buffalo (New York) and at least three districts in Massachusetts decided to cancel classes this Friday as a precautionary measure for the safety of students and staff. The city of Boston is also in a cold emergency situation from this Friday until Sunday.
“With the extreme weather conditions and many of our students commuting to and from school, walking and waiting for public transportation in the open air, we have made the decision to close for the day,” said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper, in a statement.
Officials in New York’s Erie County — where Buffalo is located — have issued code blue, which allows homeless people to seek shelter overnight when temperatures drop below 90 degrees. In addition to opening three overnight shelters in the county, daytime warming centers are also available.
Extreme cold is gripping Buffalo weeks after blizzard conditions wreaked havoc in Erie County over Christmas weekend, killing at least 39 people. The South is also battling a deadly ice storm that made road conditions miserable this week, killing at least eight people in two states.
“Please dress appropriately and do not go outside for extended periods to avoid frostbite or hypothermia,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said online.
In neighboring states, warming centers are expected to be available in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont, officials said.
What to expect this weekend
All of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut are under a wind chill watch. Northern New Jersey, northeastern Pennsylvania, and much of New York state outside of New York City and Long Island are also under wind chill threat.
“Very dangerous wind chill is likely and widespread wind chill advisories and warnings are in effect for all of New England and parts of the Northeast,” the National Weather Service said Thursday. “There is a possibility of numerous record low temperatures on Saturday morning.”
Maine will likely bear the brunt of the storm in terms of longevity, as well as severity at times, with more than 70,000 people in the northern part of the state under blizzard warnings, according to the National Weather Service.
“Extreme cold and wind producing dangerously low temperatures this Friday through Saturday. Blizzard conditions in snow blowing across open areas,” the National Weather Service in Caribou, Maine said.
Here’s what’s forecasted the most in places with Wind Chill Warnings:
- Bangor, Maine – Temperatures will begin to drop after midnight this Friday and will hit their low of minus 30 degrees C during the early morning hours of this Saturday.
- Boston: Winds will feel as cold as minus 35 degrees Celsius, with subzero temperatures lasting from Friday night through Saturday morning.
- Burlington, Vermont: Temperatures will drop as low as minus 26 degrees Celsius, with the coldest winds reaching minus 41 degrees.
- Manchester, New Hampshire: Temperatures will remain below freezing this Friday night through this Saturday morning, with a high of -25 degrees Celsius. The coldest winds will be 40 degrees below zero.
- Mount Washington, New Hampshire – The highest peak in the Northeast can face gusts in excess of 130 mph early this Saturday morning. This, combined with temperatures of 40 degrees below zero or below, will create a wind chill of up to 73 degrees below zero.
- In the rest of the country, New York will register temperatures in the single digits, with a maximum of 13 degrees this Saturday morning. The winds could reach 21 degrees below zero, with the night from Friday to Saturday being the coldest period.
The south is still affected by the ice storm
Further south, an ice storm hit parts of several states including Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee this week.
Sheets and sheets of ice, sleet and freezing rain for several consecutive days endangered the lives of drivers and uprooted many limbs and branches from trees that ended up downing power lines for tens of thousands of people.
As of early Friday, more than 250,000 Texas homes and businesses were still without power after the storm, according to tracking website PowerOutage.us. About 60,000 homes and businesses in neighboring Arkansas were also in the dark.
The impact of the ice storm on the roads caused deadly conditions this week.
A downed tree blocks most of the Barton Skyway in Austin, Texas, during a winter storm on February 1.
In Oklahoma, two people died in separate accidents after losing control of their trucks on icy roads.
And in Texas, three people died near Brownfield after a truck driver lost control Wednesday morning on an icy stretch of US 380 and overturned in a ditch. The driver and two of his passengers were killed, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported.
Another driver died near Eldorado, Texas, after losing control of her truck, the department of public safety said.
One person was killed in a 10-car pileup in South Austin, the city’s fire department said.
In Arlington, Texas, a person died after their vehicle rolled over, police said.
