Dangerously cold weather is expected to continue in the Northeast and parts of the Midwest on Saturday but a dramatic warm-up is just around the corner.
Below-freezing temperatures began hitting the region late Thursday and on Friday. Winds gusting between 40 and 50 miles per hour made it feel as cold as below 60 degrees in Maine, said Bob Larson, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.
The situation will improve but just slightly on Saturday, he said.
“It won’t be quite as windy and it won’t be as harsh but it’ll certainly be frigid,” he said, adding that winds should calm down to 10-20 mph.
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Heres what you need to know about winter weather this weekend:
Saturday: Baby, it’s cold outside
The National Weather Service in Caribou, Maine, tweeted on Friday afternoon that the recorded air temperature at their office was 15 below zero.
Conditions in the Northeast are not forecast to improve on Saturday as “a brief, intense surge of arctic air” makes its way through the region.
In New York City, the overnight windchill was expected to reach as low as 20 below zero.
In Boston, city officials declared a cold emergency because of the temperatures. It’s in effect until early Sunday morning. Like other parts of the region, Boston was providing the unhoused population with 24-hour shelter access.
The bitterly cold air was forecast to extend south toward the Mid-Atlantic region, but a pair of warm fronts moving in from the Plains should make the forecast short-lived, meteorologists said.
Winter storm tracker
Sunday: A dramatic change in the fore
On Sunday, the Northeast is expected to feel 20 to 30 degrees warmer, Larson said.
“It will be nothing short of dramatic,” he said. “The cold will end abruptly.”
The following cities are expected to see highs in the 30s and 40s:
- Boston: High of 47 degrees
- New York City: 49 degrees
- Burlington, Vermont: High of 37 degrees
- Bangor, Maine: High of 33 degrees
But as temperatures warm in the east, the Great Lakes region could be coping with snow and freezing precipitation on Sunday.
Forecasts call for an Alberta clipper to reach the upper Great Lakes by Sunday morning, before making its away toward New England, the National Weather Service said.
The system is expected to bring another round of snow to the upper Great Lakes and a mix of rain and snow across the lower Great Lakes.
The system could also bring light snow to northern New England on Sunday.
National weather radar
Story Credit: usatoday.com