Record Cold Likely on Valentine's Day

Warm hearts will be particularly treasured by tri-state lovers on Valentine's Day as the region faces record-breaking cold temperatures on Sunday.

Storm Team 4 is warning area residents that dangerously cold weather is forecast overnight with winds gusting at 30 mph and temperatures dropping near zero in New York City as the suburbs.

Outlying suburbs to the north and west will see temperatures plummet below zero overnight.

A wind chill warning is in effect until noon Sunday for areas north of the city. A gale warning is in effect for all local waterways until 10 a.m. Sunday.

Valentine's Day will be sunny, but brutally cold.

An approaching storm system brings the possibility of a light snow late Monday, President's Day. No accumulation of snow is expected, but the snow will turn to rain overnight and patches of ice could linger Tuesday morning, especially in the north and west suburbs.

Storm Team 4 is projecting a high of 17 degrees for Valentine's Day, which would tie the record set in Central Park in 1979.

Warming centers have been set up in Jersey City, Nassau County, Newark and Westchester for those without a place to go during the brutal freeze. 

The New York City Buildings Department ordered all crane operations suspended on Saturday. Last week's deadly crane collapse in Tribeca prompted Mayor Bill de Blasio to implement new crane protocols requiring that tall crawler cranes now go into safety mode whenever the forecast predicts winds of 20 mph or more. The previous threshold was 30 mph or more.

The department has also issued an advisory urging property owners, builders and contractors to secure any loose material, equipment and scaffolding in preparation for the high winds.

Meanwhile, New Yorkers are worried about warming their homes in the bitter cold. The city's 311 hotline has seen a spike in calls this week about no heat or hot water, according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development: on Tuesday, there were over 1,200 calls, Wednesday saw 1,100 calls and then a jump to 1,800 calls on Thursday. By 4 p.m. Friday, there were 1,850 complaints.

Seastreak Ferry suspended service for Saturday and Sunday because of the conditions.

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