The tri-state has entered a brutal, marathon arctic snap that Storm Team 4 says will blast the region with single-digit lows and subzero wind chills, sending temperatures in the city near a 20-year low and will feel even more painful when a winter storm sweeps through on Saturday.
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Icy winds froze the region Friday morning, with wind chills making it feel like 9 degrees below zero in the five boroughs and as much as 35 degrees below zero in parts of Ulster and Sullivan counties.
Temperatures in midtown peaked at 19 degrees around 4 p.m. despite sunny skies, though it felt more like 9 degrees because of the wind. The lowest daytime high this winter in the city has been 21 degrees, and Storm Team 4 expects Friday's conditions to beat that number.
There will be a brief respite from the cold Saturday, but another snowstorm will pass through the region in the evening. A winter storm warning has been issued for eastern Suffolk, while the rest of the tri-state is under a winter weather advisory.
Most areas, including New York City, could see between 1 and 4 inches of snow, but a slice of intense snowfall on the backside of the system could clip part of the tri-state with higher accumulations.
Storm Team 4 said eastern Long Island and Connecticut might see 5 to 8 inches by the time the system moves out Sunday, and strong winds with gusts of up to 60 mph will create possibly near-blizzard conditions Sunday morning. Any light snow over Long Island should end by midday Sunday, Storm Team 4 says. Up to 4 inches are forecast for the city.
Lesser amounts of snow are forecast for New Jersey, which may see one 1 to 3 inches of snow.
After the storm passes, bitterly cold air is expected to again rush into the region, Storm Team 4 says. Highs will be in the single digits and teens Sunday, and powerful 50 mph wind gusts could make it feel well below zero.
Mayor de Blasio called the weekend forecast "dangerous" and urged New Yorkers to stay indoors.
In New Jersey's Essex County, which includes the state's largest city of Newark, officials issued a Code Blue alert. The alerts were implemented as part of an initiative to coordinate efforts between the county and community-based organizations to get homeless people shelter from extreme weather. Libraries and school buildings turn into warming stations during the day and shelter hours are extended.
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Temperatures will plummet further Sunday night and into Monday. The low could hit 1 degree in Central Park, marking the city's coldest recorded temperature since Jan. 1994.
The cold snap should break Tuesday, as temperatures climb back up near the freezing mark. Storm Team 4 is tracking yet another winter storm system that may move up the coast Tuesday into Wednesday, potentially dumping snow as far south as Georgia next week.
