NEW YORK – Life-threatening cold is expected across the Northeast and New England this weekend, with dangerous wind chill temperatures between -10 and -30 degrees below zero for many places.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued rare Extreme Cold Warnings for more than 49 million people through Sunday afternoon, including the major metro areas of Philadelphia and New York City.
Amid a winter of relentless Arctic conditions, this is expected to be the most powerful polar punch of the season thus far.
The wind chill will be the main driver of the freezing conditions as powerful winds out of the northwest will usher in air associated with the polar vortex across the Northeast and into the densely populated metro areas of the Interstate 95 corridor.
"The last time [New York City] had a warning issued similar to what we have this morning was in 2004," FOX Weather Meteorologist Stephen Morgan noted Friday.
Frostbite can set in on open skin within just a few minutes and prolonged exposure to these temperatures could be life-threatening, according to the NWS.
Municipal leaders are encouraging people to take proper precautions.
New York City's Emergency Operations Center has been active since January's historic winter storm.
"We are prepared," Christina Farrell, the First Deputy Commissioner of New York City's Emergency Management Agency told FOX Weather Friday.
"There could be power outages, there could be water main breaks. Sometimes, if people don't have heat, we see fires," Farrell said.
Farrell added that the city is responding aggressively to wellness calls alerting officials to people in need of shelter.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday that at least 13 people have died since January due in part to hypothermia.
Warming shelters are open across Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. as well.
A cold front will move across New England, the Northeast and reach the Interstate 95 corridor by Saturday morning, accompanied by wind gusts up to 30 mph.
The front comes on the heels of a fast-moving clipper system that will bring a dusting of snow and could create brief periods of whiteout driving conditions for the region on Friday.
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The closer the clipper stays to the coast as it exits, the stronger the winds behind them will be, as cold air rushes in to fill that vacuum.
The freeze will intensify into Sunday morning as wind chills could easily plummet into the negative teens for millions in Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
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It will be even colder across parts of the interior, including New York's Capital region. Albany could see wind chills lower than minus 23 degrees.
Temperatures will barely budge throughout the day as New Englanders and other NFL fans head out to watch the big football game.
Life-threatening cold is expected to last through Monday before beginning to moderate somewhat by midweek.
The rounds of Arctic air this winter have kept many cooped up inside and frozen mountains of snow leftover from January's deadly and historic cross-country winter storm.
From arctic blast to bone-chilling temperatures — or even meat-locker cold, meteorologists and residents across the Northeast are running out of adjectives to describe winter's death-grip over the region this season.
Fortunately, a measure of relief is finally on the way later this month due to a major change in the weather pattern.
A shift in the jet stream will shield the East from the worst of the polar vortex, which will retreat farther north than earlier projections.
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