The blast of Arctic air continues to create deadly weather throughout the north east as the temperature recorded at Mount Washington made the peak as cold as Mars.
The recorded temperature of minus 110 Fahrenheit broke the previous record of 103 as NASA‘s observatory reports that the weather on the red planet was a relatively pleasant minus 105 Fahrenheit this week.
Mount Washington Observatory meteorologist Francis Tarasiewicz told WMUR: ‘It’s really an amazing day, an awe-inspiring day and actually a bit of a frightening moment.’ Temperatures are expected to rise to 48 in New England on Sunday.
Residents in Boston woke up to the coldest morning since 1957. The weather is also causing havoc at Logan Airport where at least 60 delays and 10 cancelations were reported, according to Flight Aware. Freezing fuel pumps where the reason for at least some of the disruption.
Tarasiewicz also said: ‘At one point, on one of our west-facing doors, the hinge that keeps it closed broke, the force of the winds were so strong. So, we had to do an emergency repair.’
He went on to describe the cold weather as feeling like continuous bee stings against the skin.
By comparison, air temperatures in Eureka, Canada’s northernmost Arctic weather station, were hovering at -41.
Situated in the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire at 6,288 feet, the Mount Washington Observatory was dealing with a combination of extreme cold and strong winds from an intense blast of arctic air.
In the town of Wareham, Massachusetts, the local fire department performed the heroic rescue of a dog that had fallen through the ice on Bartlett Pond in the town.
The dog, Dakota, was around 150 feet from the short, the department said on Facebook. It’s estimated that he was in the water for around 20 minutes before being rescued.
While Maine, known for its cold weather, but a popular pond hockey tournament was postponed, some ski resorts curtailed operations and organizers even put the kibosh on Saturday’s events at the National Toboggan Championships.
In Portland, the wind chill was expected to dip to 40 below Fahrenheit. It’ll be the coldest since at least 2016 and could be the coldest since 1981, so it’s possible the wind chills will be the coldest in more than four decades.
According to the NASA observatory on Mars, the temperature on the red planet this week barely broke -105 Fahrenheit
A National Weather Service (NWS) advisory said the mass of frigid air would keep temperatures at life-endangering levels through Saturday, warning of ‘extremely dangerous’ conditions from the ‘short-lived blast’
Mount Washington Observatory meteorologist Francis Tarasiewicz told WMUR: ‘It’s really an amazing day, an awe-inspiring day and actually a bit of a frightening moment’
Mute Swans and other birds take shelter in Irondequoit Bay in Irondeqquoit, New York near the Irondequoit Bay Outlet Bridge from the windy Lake Ontario on Friday
Ice pancakes and ice balls from Lake Ontario flow into Irondequoit Bay near the Irondequoit Bay Outlet Bridge in Irondequoit, New York
The entire northeast region was shivering from an intense cold blast on Friday
Mount Washington records wind chills of -104F – the lowest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. – the weather observatory on the mountain is pictured here encased in ice
Daily record lows were reported Saturday morning in southern New England, the New York City metro area and parts of upstate New York thanks to an arctic blast swooping down
The wind chills forecast for Saturday can cause frostbite on exposed skin in just 10 minutes.
Even if bundled up, the extreme cold can be dangerous for someone who’s outside for an extended period.
That’s why people are encouraged to remain indoors. If people have to go outside, then they should dress like their lives depend on it.
Experts are warning people in the north east not to go skiing or snowmobiling in the frigid conditions.
The worst of the arctic blast will be departing the region within 36 hours, the temperatures in Maine are expected to reach an ice-melting high of 37 degrees.
There was also flight disruption further south with Newark and JFK also reporting more than 70 delays Saturday morning in addition to three cancelations.
Two women are bundled up in cold weather clothing while walking during a frigid weather snap in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Boston Harbor on February 4. The wind chills forecast for Saturday can cause frostbite on exposed skin in just 10 minutes
Even if bundled up, the extreme cold can be dangerous for someone who’s outside for an extended period
The worst of the arctic blast will be departing the region within 36 hours, the temperatures in Maine are expected to reach an ice-melting high of 37 degrees
Boston’s South Station, the largest transit hub in the city, opened its doors to homeless people seeking shelter.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared a state of emergency through Sunday and opened warming centers to help the city’s more than 650,000 residents cope with what the NWS has warned could shape up to be a ‘once-in-a-generation’ cold front.
Early on Friday, the arctic surge flowing into the United States from eastern Canada was centered over the U.S. Plains, weather service forecaster Bob Oravec said. Kabetogama, Minnesota, near the Ontario border, was America’s coldest spot at 1 p.m. EST, with a temperature of minus 39.
In New York City, the code blue alert issued by the mayor means that nobody would be denied shelter at the city’s facilities.
Temperatures in the Big Apple were as low as five degrees on Saturday morning, coming amid a mild winter.
Meanwhile, a Pacific storm was expected to bring another round of heavy snow to California’s Sierra Nevada mountains on Saturday night.
Periods of moderate rainfall were forecast in lower elevations of central and northern California and the Pacific Northwest through the weekend.
Despite the extreme cold, Nhon Ma, a Belgium native, was out on Friday with his Zinneken’s food truck near Boston University selling Belgian waffles made from homemade dough, and keeping warm with three or four waffle irons going at once.
‘Those create heat, but of course it’s cold, it’s going to be cold, but we’re here,’ Ma told Reuters.
In a frigid Biddeford, Maine, about 95 miles north of Boston, Katie Pinard, owner of a coffee and book shop, said business was brisk as customers came in from the cold, with some opting to work from her shop, Elements: Books Coffee Beer, rather than commute.
‘Yeah, Mainers are pretty hardy, but talk to me tomorrow and we’ll see if we’re busy or not,’ she said, looking ahead to Saturday morning, when temperatures were expected to drop to -18 F (-28 C). ‘I think people are out and doing what they need to get done before the real cold hits.’
