Bitter cold weather has taken hold of much of the northern United States and is expected to stay put for days to come into the New Year.
Forecasters warned of hypothermia and frostbite from arctic air settling in over the central U.S. and spreading east.
The National Weather Service reported International Falls, Minnesota, the self-proclaimed Icebox of the Nation, plunged to 37 degrees below zero, breaking the old record of 32 below set in 1924.
Hibbing, Minnesota, bottomed out at 28 below, breaking the old record of 27 below set in 1964.
‘Bitterly cold arctic air will settle in across a large swath of the U.S. as we turn the calendar from 2017 to 2018,’ said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.
‘People will really need to bundle up if they are heading out Sunday night for New Year’s Eve celebrations in places like Chicago, for example, where the high will be 15 F on Sunday, around 15 degrees below normal.’
With temperatures in the single digits, Ray Levesque, mate of the crab/lobster boat Bradbill, makes his way across the deck covered in ice to tie off, after arriving in New Bedford, Massachusetts harbor on Thursday from a one day fishing voyage
Bitter cold weather has taken hold of much of the northern United States and is expected to stay put for days to come into the New Year. A far-reaching arctic blast is going to make the temperatures drop even more
The cold weather is going to dominate for days into New Year’s Eve as it is predicted to feel like negative 8 degrees in Chicago, negative five degrees in New York and a freezing negative 35 degrees in Bangor, Maine
A delivery man in New York City (left) braved the cold temperatures outside by bundling up and covering his hands with bags while riding a bicycle. A woman wore a ski mask while putting on several layers to go outside in the chilly weather in New York City Thursday (right)
Ana Gonzalez of New Haven, Connecticut, right, helps her sister Alejandrina Gonzalez, left, put on another scarf as they brave temperatures in the teens on the National Mall in DC on Thursday
A woman braves temperatures in the teens as she makes her way to the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in DC on Thursday
Visitors to the Washington Monument on the National Mall brave temperatures in the teens on Thursday in DC
A woman holds her face while braving the freezing temperatures in DC on Thursday
The icy cold weather turned the Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota into a beautiful frozen wonderland
The popular attraction has frozen over due to the super cold temperatures that have been in the single digits over the past few days
- Forecasters predict freezing temperatures for much of the Northeast and Midwest into the New Year
- New Year’s Eve temperatures are predicted to be to be around 12 degrees in the Big Apple, but it will feel dramatically colder due to the wind chill
- The Great Lakes may get 1-3 inches of snow creating slippery travel in the Interstate 70, 80 and 90 corridors of the Plains and Midwest
- Meteorologists are also cautioning a possible snow threat for the Northeast region over New Year’s weekend
- If two storms merge, Philadelphia to New York City to Boston and Portland, Maine will see snow Friday to Saturday
- There is an ice threat for coastal cities in Georgia and South Carolina on Thursday to early Friday
The icy cold weather turned the Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota into a beautiful frozen wonderland.
The popular attraction has frozen over due to the super cold temperatures that have been in the single digits over the past few days.
Wind chill advisories or warnings were in effect for much of New England, northern Pennsylvania and New York.
Those places and states in the northern Plains and Great Lakes were projected to see highs in the teens or single digits and lows below zero for the rest of the week and into the new year.
The National Weather Service said wind chills in many areas Thursday could make temperatures feel below zero.
People in Erie, Pennsylvania, continued to dig out from a storm that brought 34 inches of snow on Christmas Day, smashing the daily snowfall record for the Great Lakes city of 8 inches, and 26.5 more inches on Tuesday.
Forecasters warned of hypothermia and frostbite from arctic air settling in over the central U.S. and spreading east. Above people cross the street in downtown Boston on Thursday morning in freezing single-digit temperatures
The National Weather Service said there’s the potential for record-breaking cold this week in New England. Above a man walks in the snow in downtown Boston on Thursday morning
The frigid temperatures in New York City aren’t stopping people from going outside and braving the cold snap
New York City Police Officers are patrolling the streets of the city in the freezing temperatures
States in the northern Plains and Great Lakes were projected to see highs in the teens or single digits and lows below zero for the rest of the week and into the new year. Above a man walks along the Chicago River
The jet-stream pattern responsible for the cold outbreak across the Plains, Rockies and Midwest, featuring the ‘omega block’ is surging northward from the Pacific Ocean into the Arctic Ocean, and the downstream nose-diving jet into the central U.S., according to The Weather Channel
A persistent northward bulge in the jet stream over the Southwest has led to an extended dry period for the region, according to The Weather Channel
New Year’s Eve in Times Square, New York will feel like negative five degrees with 10 to 20mph winds on Sunday night
More than 65 inches total fell on the city in just a few days.
Strong westerly winds over Lake Erie picked up moisture, developed into snow and converged with opposing winds, dumping snow in a band along the shore from Ohio to New York, said Zach Sefcovic, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Cleveland.
Sabrina Ram drove into Erie on Christmas Eve to visit her parents just as the snow began to fall.
Ram, who lives in suburban Washington, D.C., and her father spent five hours on Christmas and two hours on Tuesday clearing the driveway.
‘In D.C., we’d be out of commission for weeks,’ Ram said. ‘Things here are pretty much back to normal now.’
The snow is predicted to spread on Thursday causing slippery travel and possible flight delays in Chicago and Pittsburgh
Disruptive snow is predicted on Friday and into Friday night in the Midwest making travel delays even worse
There is also a hazardous ice threat in place for Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina for Thursday night
There is a snow threat from Friday to Saturday with two storms that could possibly merge
Wind chill advisories or warnings are in effect for much of New England, northern Pennsylvania and New York along with several states in the Midwest
Much of the Northeast and Midwest are experiencing freezing temperatures Thursday morning
There are some rain showers in the Southern states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama
Meanwhile, much of the Northern part of the country is covered in at least an inch of snow
Several north eastern states are under wind chill advisories or warnings. The hazardous winds will make temperatures feel like negative 10 to negative 40 degrees in some areas
The forecast highs are pictured above for New Year’s Weekend across the Northern and Midwest parts of the U.S.
The forecast lows are pictured above for New Year’s Weekend across the Northern and Midwest parts of the U.S.
In New York, communities near Lake Ontario’s eastern end, including Redfield and Boylston, also saw around 5 feet of snow this week.
Listed above are the coldest New Year’s Eve ball drops in New York City from 1917 up until 2008
Officials said the storm’s timing was good, since people were off the streets and staying home for Christmas, giving plows more space to clear streets.
By Wednesday, Erie’s roads were relatively clear, emergency calls were relatively slow and the big task was digging out, County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper said.
‘We’re used to a lot of snow here in Erie, but this is unprecedented, the amount we got,’ Dahlkemper said.
The Department of Energy has projected energy fuel costs are going to track upward. That falls on the heels of two winters when costs were relatively low.
Mark Wolfe is an official with the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association. He says the good news is that President Donald Trump has released 90 percent of the energy assistance funding. Trump previously tried to eliminate the program altogether.
Wolfe says he is urging lawmakers to press to release the rest of the money.
The temperature without the wind chill factored in hit minus 32 on Thursday morning in Watertown, New York. Across the Northeast, homeless shelters are bringing in extra beds and staff members.
A boy tries to keep warm while walking through New York’s Times Square on Wednesday
Soledda Hernandez stands on the roof of her car as she brushes off snow in Erie, Pennsylvania on Wednesday
City of Erie traffic engineering employee Chuck Carnes Jr. uses compressed air to clear snow from a traffic signal in the city on Wednesday. Carnes was part of a two-man crew clearing signals after a record-setting snowfall
A couple embraces as they brave the cold weather for a walk in Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont on Wednesday