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(CNN) — Just after midnight on Tuesday it was hotter than it will be all day in the Northeast. Since then, the temperature has been dropping, and it will stay dangerously cold throughout the day in the region, leaving major cities like New York and Boston with the coldest daytime air mass in nearly three years.
When the sun rose over New York on Tuesday morning, it had already dropped to -12 ° C from a starting point of -5 ° C. And even if the sun tries to warm the most populated city in the country, the temperature will have a hard time reaching -6 ° C.
“Highs this afternoon will struggle to get out of -12C and -6C in most places, with temperatures in the single digits in northern New England,” the Weather Prediction Center said.
In Boston, the temperature dropped to the single digits Tuesday morning and will barely return to -12 ° C in the afternoon.
“Dangerously cold across southern New England today as arctic air invades,” the Boston office of the National Weather Service said Tuesday.
The worst thing is that it feels even colder than the thermometer reads.
Why does it feel colder
Wind chill in Boston was -23 ° C just before 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
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Both New York and Boston are flirting Tuesday morning with temperatures that “feel” close to zero or lower.
“Feel” refers to how temperature and wind work together to make it feel colder than it would be without wind; this is also known as wind chill.
As the wind increases, it draws heat from the body, causing the temperature of the skin to drop, and eventually the internal temperature of the body. Therefore, the wind makes it “feel” much colder.
Strong winds will continue to make it feel cooler through the day Tuesday before easing overnight.
“Strong winds will add an additional touch to the cold snap, with widespread below freezing wind chill throughout the region and as low as minus 40 in northern Maine,” the forecast center said.
Exposed skin is at risk of frostbite in as little as 10 minutes when wind chill temperatures are this low, the Weather Service office in Gray, Maine said.
More than 6 million people were under a wind chill alert Tuesday morning from New York to Maine, where the temperature “feels like” it was life-threatening.
Although it may take longer for frostbite to develop in states further south that will be slightly warmer, it is very important to continue to take precautions to stay safe.
“Venturing out into this cold weather requires a plan to keep yourself and your pets safe,” said CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers. “Shorter hikes, lots of layers, and a cold weather kit for your car are always things to consider. Even indoors, it’s time to prevent frozen pipes.”
What to take in the car during bad winter weather.
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Do you wonder where this cold comes from? Here’s a hint: it’s cold and icy and sits above the Arctic Circle.
In fact, the air mass in Boston was traced to Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, by meteorologists at the Boston Weather Service office.
[Arctic blast] Alright folks, we all know by now it is going to get VERY #cold tomorrow with a forecast high of 11°F in Boston. So when we ran the backward trajectory model, we can trace the air all the way to Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska! @NWSFairbanks #MAwx #RIwx #CTwx pic.twitter.com/vHwY46bBdK
– NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) January 10, 2022
“Fortunately, this blow of cold air won’t stick around for long as more stable temperatures between -1°C and 4°C arrive this Wednesday afternoon,” the forecast center said.
But even that relief could be short-lived.
“Although there will be a few brief warmer days,” Myers said, “the general pattern predicts that the jet stream and associated cold fronts creeping in from the Arctic will last for at least the next two weeks.”
This will keep most of the eastern US temperatures well below average and the western US well above average for the rest of this month.
“The duration of the arctic blast is just as important as the cold air itself,” Myers explained. “This kind of prolonged cold snap tests everything from municipal services to water pipes.”
— CNN Meteorologist Monica Garrett contributed to this report.
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