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Painful, Bitter Cold Snap Looms Heading Into Weekend: Here’s What Temps to Brace For

Published

2 months ago

February 2, 2023

New Yorker

Short days? Check. Snow? Check (finally). Bitterly cold weather? Soon to be checked.

Yep, it’s definitely February. And it’ll definitely feel like it this weekend.

Now that New York City got its first measurable snowfall out of the way with a grand total of half an inch of snow overall — ending our extended snowless streak at 328 days — frigidly cold temperatures are set to rush in to start the weekend.

Enjoy Thursday, which will be dry and chilly, though highs will at least reach a manageable 41 degrees on an otherwise regular Groundhog Day. After that, it won’t matter if the groundhog sees his shadow or not — temperatures are set to plunge. Hard.

Highs Friday will drop back to freezing and worsen from there. The leading edge of arctic air arrives with potentially dangerous wind chills, well below zero, developing across the area late Friday and Friday night, and continuing into Saturday morning.

Mother Nature turns downright cruel Saturday, with low-to-mid 20 highs expected for highs and mind-numbing wind chills.

Waking up Saturday, we hope you don’t have to be anywhere outside: Expect single-digit lows in the city, and it will feel like -10. It will be even colder in the Hudson Valley and Connecticut (-17 in Bridgeport, -19 in Poughkeepsie).

If you do have to leave the house, be sure to bundle up: It only takes 30 minutes (or less) for frostbite set in on any exposed skin, and even walking a few blocks to a subway station will feel painful, especially if facing the wind.

It will be quite a change of pace from January, which was historic for its warmth: It was the first month ever that New York City recorded above-average temperatures all 31 days.

There is some good news: The bitter cold won’t be here for long. Beginning Saturday afternoon, a quick change in wind direction from the southwest will drive temperatures up overnight into Sunday — climbing to the much more tolerable low 40s by the afternoon afternoon.

It stays fairly pleasant through early next week, as above average forecast temps range from the mid-40s to low 50s through Friday, with a chance of showers coming by the weekend. But with temperatures so high, there won’t be a concern for snow.