New York – Bitter temperatures and biting winds had much of the northeastern United States bundling up for the some of the worst cold of the winter — a snap so bad it forced an ice festival in Central Park to cancel.
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Officials urged residents to take precautions while forecasters warned that high winds in New England could make it feel as cold as 35 degrees below zero.
New York City was bracing for its coldest night in 20 years. Mayor Bill de Blasio said officials had put on extra staff to help residents who had lost heat.
“It’s so important to take this seriously, to stay indoors to the maximum extent possible,” de Blasio told reporters.
But even as forecasters and elected officials urged caution, the frigid temperatures couldn’t keep hundreds of people from jumping into the Atlantic Ocean as part of a Jersey shore resort town’s annual Polar Bear Plunge. In fact, the waters off Sea Isle City may have been unusually pleasant: organizers pegged the air temperature in the mid-20s, while it was about 37 degrees in the ocean.
A wind chill advisory was in effect for New York City through noon Sunday. With the actual temperatures falling as low as 4 degrees below, the weather service said the city could see wind chills of minus-18 to minus-24. Wind gusts may reach 45 mph.
Even with the freezing temperatures, tourists cloaked in heavy layers wandered over the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan, snapping photos. Deliverymen cycled through the windy streets, their hands covered with plastic bags, and garage employees changed tires.
City department of homeless services officials were on the streets responding to reports of people in need of shelter. Friday night, 62 people were brought into shelters and 207 people came to hospitals to get out of the cold.
Though the temperatures were frigid, they weren’t necessarily record-setting. The record for cold in Concord, New Hampshire, on Valentine’s Day is minus-28 degrees, and Sunday’s forecast is for a low of minus-10, said meteorologist Bob Marine.
Portland, Maine, got below zero degrees for the first time on Friday night, a “very unusual” late arrival for such a deep temperature dip, Marine said.
People have been spoiled by unseasonably higher temperatures “and now they have to deal with reality,” Marine said.
Subzero temperatures were also expected in the Boston area, with wind chills that could make it feel 35 degrees below zero in some places. Winds could gust up to 45 mph inland and 50 mph on Cape Cod.
strange that they are still allowing for the Chinese New Year parade when telling everyone to stay indoors.