Dangerous Arctic blast forecast to hit Northeast; some cities to see record-shattering cold

Amanda Lee Myers
Updated
Cars park as snow falls during a winter storm warning.
Cars park as snow falls during a winter storm warning.

An Arctic blast is set to sweep into the Northeast to start the weekend, bringing dangerously cold temperatures and high winds.

The storm was set to move in Thursday night and last through Saturday, bringing record-shattering temperatures to cities including Boston, where the wind chill could feel as low as 40 below zero.

"The main push of extreme cold is coming right down the eastern states, particularly over New England," said Bob Larson, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. "That's going to be ground zero for the extreme cold as we head into the weekend."

Other states that will be impacted by cold temperatures include Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Midwestern states including Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.

Here’s what you need to know about winter weather this week:

'Dangerously cold' temperatures in forecast

The states that will see the coldest temperatures during the storm include:

  • Maine

  • Vermont

  • New Hampshire

  • Massachusetts

  • Connecticut

  • Rhode Island

  • New York

"There's going to be wind gusts of 40 to 40 miles per hour across this area from New York City northward during the day Friday," Larson said. "You combine that with those very low temperatures and it creates very harsh feels-like temperatures."

For instance, it'll feel like 20 below zero in New York City, 30 to 40 below in Boston and 40 to 60 below zero through much of Maine.

"That's dangerously cold," Larson said. "There's undoubtedly going to be some record low temperatures that are going to be broken."

The record low in Boston for Feb. 4 was set in 1886, when it hit 2 below zero. It's expected to reach between 5 and 10 below zero during the storm.

The cold is expected to end by Sunday, when temperatures get back into the 30s and 40s for the region.

What is wind chill? Understanding the wind chill index and how it's calculated

Texas freeze

Meanwhile an ice storm that hit Texas and western Tennessee is winding down and should be cleared of the region by Friday.

The remnants of that storm should hit warmer air, causing rainstorms in the Carolinas and Georgia, Larson said.

The cold caused power outages for hundreds of thousands of Texas residents.

Thunderstorms are also expected in Florida.

What is the polar vortex?: In-depth look at how it can affect winter weather in the US.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Winter storm forecast to bring extreme wind chills, high winds Friday

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