This weekend, a brief but potentially fatal cold snap will continue to affect more than 20 million people in the Northeast as well-below-freezing temperatures spread throughout the area.
All of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut are expected to remain under wind chill warnings and advisories into Saturday morning. The majority of New York’s state as well as Pennsylvania’s northern counties are also in danger due to the freezing temperatures.
Zero degrees are displayed by the thermometer on the snow. Low degrees both in Celsius and Fahrenheit. Cold winter weather; 32 degrees Fahrenheit (zero Celsius).
In order to help people in need, especially vulnerable populations experiencing homelessness, officials from several states have opened shelters and warming facilities as well as urged the public to stay indoors until Sunday.
Governor Kathy Hochul said on Twitter early on Friday that “our state is facing dangerously frigid temps & high wind chills today & tomorrow.” “We are working with local authorities to make sure they have all they need to protect New Yorkers. Please restrict your time spent outside, dress in layers, and exercise caution when using other heat sources.
States as a whole are at risk as the region is being hit by dangerously cold winds from Canada. The National Weather Service reports that 70,000 residents in Penobscot and Aroostook counties are under blizzard warnings through Saturday evening, with the heaviest effects likely in northern Maine.
“From today through Saturday, strong blowing snowstorm conditions are predicted in open regions. The weather service in Caribou, Maine, pleaded with people not to drive if they didn’t have to.
On Friday, the Maine State Police posted images of the deteriorating road conditions in Aroostook County and cautioned motorists that “blinding whiteouts” might occur at any time in any section of the state with wide fields and snow.
“The County’s broad fields and views are one of its beauty, but on days like this, they constitute a hazard. driving safely What appears to be safe and regular driving conditions suddenly degrade into areas of the road with virtually no visibility, the Maine State Police wrote on Facebook.
According to the meteorological office in Caribou, sections of northern Maine on Friday night had wind chills as low as minus 69 degrees, with many other locations seeing wind chills as low as minus 35 to minus 50 degrees.
In Maine, where the water inside trees froze, expanded, caused branches to crack, and knocked down power lines, the local weather service also recorded some power outages, though Friday’s effects did not appear to be substantial or widespread.
The tallest peak in the Northeast, Mount Washington in New Hampshire, certainly set a new record for the lowest wind chill temperature on Friday night with a reported wind chill of – 108 degrees Fahrenheit, thanks to a temperature of minus 46 and wind gusts of 127 mph. Although wind chill records are not historically as regularly monitored as temperature records, the milestone would surpass previous lows.
This week’s freezing temperatures have not just been felt in the Northeast. Further south, while an ice storm pounded the area, killing at least eight people, extremely cold weather also caused continued power disruptions throughout Texas and Arkansas.
Due to numerous rounds of ice, sleet, and freezing rain that made roadways treacherous and weighed down trees, forcing them to break and bring down power lines, over 150,000 homes and businesses in Texas were still without power early on Saturday. According to the tracking website Poweroutage us, there were power outages in more than 35,000 homes and businesses in Arkansas early on Saturday.
Assistance For Persons Who Are Homeless
According to the city’s Department of Homeless Services, New York City declared a “cold blue” Friday evening because of the persistently severe weather in the Northeast.
The classification typically means that temperatures have dropped so low that it is necessary to make supplies accessible to the general public. According to that code, residents of New York are instructed to report persons on the street as a safety precaution and may use the city’s network of homeless shelters in an emergency.
According to a department official, “No one who is experiencing homelessness and seeking shelter in New York City during a Code Blue will be denied.”
Single-digit temperatures are expected in New York City, with the lowest point being Saturday morning at 8 degrees and winds that might feel as cold as 7 below zero.
The city stated in a tweet on Friday that “homeless outreach teams will be chatting to any New Yorker on the street and giving them warm refuge.”
Officials also declared a “code blue” and opened three countywide overnight shelters as well as daytime warming centers in Buffalo’s home county of Erie.
According to officials, warming facilities have opened in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
According to their Facebook accounts, Cannon Mountain Ski Resort in Franconia and Wildcat Mountain in Gorham have closed due to the extreme cold in New Hampshire, where the worst winds could feel as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.
In a similar vein, several ski slopes in Vermont on Friday turned away visitors and suspended operations.
