Temperatures across the Northeast plummeted and wind speeds crept upward Friday, as the region prepared for some of the coldest wind chills in decades.
If there was a bit of cold comfort for residents who had to be outside in the harsh conditions, it was this: At least they weren’t atop Mount Washington, in New Hampshire, the region’s highest peak, where the temperature was already minus 37 degrees Fahrenheit as of Friday afternoon and expected to drop to minus 46. High winds of 98 mph were making the temperature feel like minus 94.
Temperatures and wind speeds were expected to break records across the region. By late afternoon, it was 19 degrees in New York City, 13 in Hartford, Connecticut, and minus 1 in Concord, New Hampshire, with the wind making it feel dramatically colder everywhere. The wind chill reading in Caribou, Maine, was minus 42.
Conditions across the region were expected to grow even colder and windier into Saturday but quickly become more moderate by Sunday.
In northern New England, where residents pride themselves on cold-weather endurance, the combination of frigid cold and high winds forced some to make rare accommodations. Wildcat Mountain, a 4,000-foot peak in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, closed to skiers Friday, citing risks from the adverse conditions.
Sixty miles to the south, at Lake Waukewan in Meredith, New Hampshire, organizers opted not to cancel the Pond Hockey Classic, a packed schedule of outdoor ice hockey games for die-hard adult players Friday and Saturday. Organizers warned players of the risk of frostbite and hypothermia and urged them to bring dry clothing, to leave immediately after their games and to keep an eye on teammates.
Lorelai Kyes, a student at the University of New Hampshire, said that just about everyone she saw Friday was bundled up and “miserable.” One student even brought a blanket and a heating pad to class.
“I feel like it is part of New England,” Kyes said. But, she added: “Most of the winters lately have been getting warmer, so I haven’t experienced this since I was a kid.”
Some had little choice but to be outside. In Hanover, New Hampshire, where temperatures of minus 20 and wind chills of minus 30 were expected Friday and Saturday, Tiana Denk shrugged off the 1-degree noontime temperature as she worked a busy lunchtime shift delivering pizzas for Domino’s.
Dressed in a thin jacket, and no hat or gloves as she loaded up her delivery car with pizza boxes, Denk said she was just glad it was clear and sunny.
“If it was snowing, it would be worse,” she said. “These cars are only two-wheel drive.”
In Boston, where the deep freeze was forecast to hit minus 6 by sunrise Saturday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said the doors at South Station, the downtown train hub, would remain unlocked overnight Friday and Saturday for those who chose not to use the city’s other shelters.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared a cold emergency from Friday through Sunday. Public schools were closed Friday because of the weather, with school officials worried that children might get hypothermia or frostbite while commuting, especially those who took public transportation.
The core of the arctic air mass is over northern New England, but New Yorkers, too, were preparing for wind chill readings below zero. Mayor Eric Adams announced that Code Blue was in effect, which means no one seeking shelter will be denied.
Even before the worst of the cold weather arrived, Edjoa-Sika Vivon, 68, who lives in the Bronx, was unhappy.
“I don’t feel good,” she said. “I come from Africa, where we don’t experience this cold, and it’s very hard. With my age, I can’t stand it.”
Vivon was wearing a knitted hat and a long coat with a faux-fur hood. But for a medical appointment, she said, she would be at home.
Erasmo Soto, 33, said he was worried about the pipes in his home in Yonkers freezing. He intended to “crank up the boiler” to keep the house warm, and was already worried about the heating bill.
Soto, a firefighter, said he reluctantly bought a couple of space heaters too. “I’m not a big fan of space heaters because of possible fires, but I definitely need it,” he said.
In Erie County — which includes Buffalo — officials opened several warming shelters before the most frigid weather. Mark Poloncarz, the Erie County executive, said temperatures would be in the single digits by sunrise Saturday.
In Maine, forecasters expected the wind chill in Portland to be minus 40 by Friday night. The last time the area experienced those temperatures was in 1981. Even meteorologists seemed impressed.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen it, minus 15 to minus 20 degrees with a 40-mph wind,” said Justin Arnott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Portland. “So it’s kind of, you know, reaching the limit of what I’ve seen in my life.”
Maine had opened about 150 shelters by midmorning Friday and expected to set up more, said Vanessa Corson, a spokesperson for the Maine Emergency Management Agency.
Events across the state were canceled or postponed because of the cold, including the National Toboggan Championships in Camden. The three-day event normally draws hundred of participants and spectators, who dress in wild costumes and race toboggans down an icy wooden chute.
In Burlington, Vermont, on Friday afternoon, men gathered at a warming center across from a popular taqueria called Taco Gordo. The temperature was minus 8 and dropping. Outside the center, as the wind blew violently and trash swirled around near the dumpsters, a rabbit hopped by, presumably trying to find shelter.