WASHINGTON – A winter storm that the National Weather Service (NWS) described as brief but “extremely dangerous” arrives this Friday in the northeastern United States with temperatures of the Arctic.
The city of Boston, Massachusetts, closed its schools today as the region braces for a combination of cold and wind that could dip as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) between tonight and Saturday morning.
Authorities have urged residents to stay indoors as much as possible, and if they need to go out, bundle up warmly.
The impact of the winter storm is extensive and freezing temperatures persist this morning, from the Great Lakes and the northern Midwest to parts of the Hudson Valley north of New York City and west to Pennsylvania.
According to the NWS office in Caribou, Maine, there hasn’t been a wind chill of minus 45 Celsius in at least 35 years.
The NWS station, located 1,722 meters above sea level in Mount Washington, New Hampshire, forecast winds of 120 kilometers per hour and a temperature of 40.5 Celsius (41 F) for this afternoon.
The combination will result in a wind chill of 57.7 Celsius (72 Fahrenheit) below zero.
The Weather Channel noted that the forecasted strong winter storm will be brief and temperatures will begin to moderate Saturday night.
“Except in areas near the Canadian border in northern New England, low temperatures Sunday morning will be similar to high temperatures on Saturday,” he added.
Thousands without electricity due to storm in the south of the country
Meanwhile, and as a result of the winter storm that affected the south of the country, this morning some 245,200 homes and businesses in Texas, 56,400 in Arkansas, 15,600 in Mississippi and 5,120 in Tennessee remain without power.
The city of Burlington, Vermont, opened overnight shelters at the Miller Center to keep the homeless out of the cold.
“With the extreme cold forecast for this weekend, we are very concerned about the exposure risks of community members sleeping without shelter, and other vulnerable people who do not have adequate heating in their homes,” said Mayor Miro. Weinberger.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu told a news conference that the storm “will be brief but it will also be extreme,” adding that he did not yet have plans to declare a state of emergency or activate National Guard units.
The Manchester School District canceled school activities citing “temperatures that are already dangerously low and will continue to drop throughout the day.”
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