Freezing Cold

NEW YORK (1010 WINS)  -- Friday is the coldest day in the Northeast so far this winter, and morning temperatures were the coldest in nearly two years, according to AccuWeather. Temperatures will moderate Saturday before another blast of arctic air arrives Monday.

VIDEO: Cold Snap Freezes Northeast

The combination of a dip in the jetstream, the arctic air firmly in place and biting northwest winds will create dangerously low RealFeel® temperatures across the Northeast.

Early Friday morning, the temperature in New York City plummeted to 9°, the coldest temperature in the city since Jan. 28, 2005. 

The strong northwest wind is making the air feel significantly colder than the actual temperature. In Greenville, Maine, RealFeel® temperatures this morning bottomed out at -35°.

The brutal cold will continue to grip the Northeast Friday, with RealFeel® temperatures in or below the single digits throughout the day north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Thankfully, harsh weather across the Northeast will not persist into the weekend. While Friday night will remain cold, an area of high pressure will slide off the Southeast coast, allowing warmer west winds to push temperatures back to seasonable values Saturday.

Temperatures will fall again on Monday in the wake of another clipper system which, will bring more snow to the Great Lakes and cold air to the Plains into the weekend. The lack of moisture and the absence of a low pressure center emerging from the south will prevent the development of a major Northeast snowstorm that normally accompanies the arrival of an arctic air mass.

The winter storm developing over the Atlantic Ocean will bypass the Northeast before slamming into Atlantic Canada. As Canadian Expert Meteorologist Brett Anderson reports, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland will be struck by near-blizzard conditions from late Friday into Saturday.

The long-range outlook currently shows arctic air could merge with moisture from the south, creating potential for development of an East Coast storm around Groundhog Day.

Prolonged exposure to bitterly cold air could result in frostbite or hypothermia. Pets are also susceptible to the cold and should not be left outdoors for extended periods of time.

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